Following the Storm
by RJRelentless
Summary: Sequel to The Howling Cub. Eliza has her memories back, the Doctor has regenerated in his tenth form, and Rose feels that she's the only one on the TARDIS that hasn't changed. With Eliza gone, the Doctor and Rose continue their adventures, meeting new people, visiting wonderful planets, and saving the day almost daily. But not all is as it seems. They're being followed...
1. Christmas Invasion Part 1

_**Christmas Invasion Part 1**_

_**A.N: Thank you all for clicking on this story **__** I will warn you, a lot of the stuff in this first chapter isn't going to make a lot of sense unless you read my last FanFic, The Howling Cub. But any of you who have read my last story, thank you for sticking with me. Apologies for this chapter, this isn't going to be based on the actual episode Christmas Invasion, many apologies.**_

_The new Doctor looked around, his eyes resting on the two women. "Hello!" He greeted enthusiastically. "Ok…" He made a face, along with a strange noise. "New teeth… that's weird." Eliza laughed slightly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. The man before her had big hair, sticking up slightly at the back, and was brown, as were his eyes. Rose looked him up and down before she started, slowly but surely, letting her grip relax. He looked back at the two women, then continuing, "So, where was I?" He looked down at the Console before adding, "Oh, that's right!" He exclaimed. He looked back at them, ending, "Barcelona!" He gave them a smile, and started walking around the Console._

The Doctor looked down at the monitor, clicking buttons as we went. "6pm," he decided. "Tuesday… October…Five thousand and six… on the way to Barcelona!" he exclaimed giddily. He turned to the two women, only one of them smiling while the other stared at him blankly, not sure what to do or what to say. "Now then, what do I look like?" he asked, giving them a toothy grin, something he hardly ever did in his last body. "No, no, no, no, don't tell me! Let's see…" he muttered, checking himself over. "Two legs, two arms, two hands… slight weakness in the Dorsal Tubercle…" Remembering the most important thing, his hands flew to his head. "Hair! I'm not bald!" he cheered. "Ow… _big hair…_ side burns, I've got side burns! …I've got really bad skin…" he looked down, tapping his stomach. "Lil' bit thinner, that's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it," he frowned for a few seconds before turning to the women again. "I have got… a mole," he muttered excitedly. This made Eliza laugh, Rose still looking bemused. "No, really, I can feel it," the Doctor muttered again, more so to Eliza this time. "right between my shoulder blades, there's a mole. Yeah! Love the mole!" he looked back at the two and ended, "Go on, then. Tell me, what do you think?"

Eliza was the first to talk. She released Rose's remaining grip on her, making the older woman half-hide behind one of the TARDIS corals, as the young teenager walked foreword and circled him. "You're very… _pretty._"

"Ohhhh, I'm not a pretty boy, am I?" he complained. Eliza nodded, then approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest, feeling the double beat of his hearts. When they broke apart, Eliza heard Rose whisper, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, slightly concerned at her sudden question.

"No…" Rose shook her head in denial. "No, where's the Doctor? What have you done to him?" With the sentences, her voice got stronger, maybe even more harsher.

"Really, Rose, it's him." Eliza said, walking over to her.

"Yeah, you saw me; I changed, right in front of you." The Doctor said, wondering if she had some sort of memory loss from the Time Vortex.

"I saw him sort of… explode… and you replaced him like a teleport or a transmat or something..." Rose stuttered, trying to register what she'd just seen. Her eyes then went from scared to determined. She walked up to him slowly, pushing him lightly. "You're not fooling me," she hissed.

"Rose-" Eliza started.

"No!" Rose bellowed. "Neither of you. You ain't tricking me. I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes, Gelth… _Slitheen_…" she eyed them both up and down before whimpering, "Oh, my God… are you Slitheen?"

Eliza chuckled, the Doctor replied for both of them, "We are not Slitheen."

"Send him back," Rose ordered. "I'm warning you, send the Doctor back, right now!"

"Rose, it's me!" the Doctor attempted again. "Honestly, it's me. I was dying. To save my life, I changed my body, every single cell, but it's still _me._"

Rose shook her head in denial again, whispering, "You can't be…" Where had her Doctor gone? The Doctor she'd gotten to know so well the past year? All big ears and short hair and leather, a lot of the time moody, but friendly?

The Doctor gave a gentle look before walking towards her. "Then how could I remember this?" he asked. "Very first word I ever said to you, trapped in that cellar, surrounded by shop window dummies… oh, such a long time ago," he smiled, and grasped her hand. "I took your hand, and I said one word. Just one word. I said… 'Run!'," he whispered the last word, giving it more meaning.

Rose gulped, the tears still in her eyes. "Doctor?" she whispered so only he would hear her.

"Hello!" he greeted softly. "And we never stopped, did we?" the Doctor asked, letting go of her hand and running around the TARDIS Console, flicking buttons as he went. "All three of us, all around the Universe, running, running, running, running! Remember that time when we had to hop? Do you remember? Hoping for our lives!" the Doctor laughed at the memory, imitating it as he bounced up and down on the spot. "Yeah? All that hoping? Remember hoping for your life? Hop…" the Doctor slowed down his imitation when Rose continued to stare at him, her bemused look still evident. "No…" the Doctor ended.

A few moments of awkward silence passed between the two, Eliza apparently becoming invisible. "Can you change back?" Rose asked eventually.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded immediatly.

Looking disappointed, he muttered, "Oh."

When he said nothing else, she asked, "Can you?"

"No," he replied, biting his lip. "Do you wonna leave?" he asked hesitantly.

"Do you want me to?"

"No!" the Doctor exclaimed. "But, it's your choice, if you want to go home." Eliza stayed unusually quiet for the majority of this exchange, watching as if she was at a tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth…

Taking her silence the wrong way, he walked around the TARDIS again. "Cancel Barcelona. Change to London, the Powell Estate… let's say the 24th of December. Consider it a Christmas present," he said, giving as much as a smile as he could. He pressed a final button, stepping away from the Console. Eliza felt them stop in the Time Vortex, then go flying again, but in the opposite direction.

"We're going home?" Rose asked.

"Up to you," the Doctor shrugged. "Back to your mum. It's all waiting; fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans of toast- no, Christmas! Turkey!" he said happily, and then acquired a serious expression. "Although, having met your mother, a nut loaf would be more appropriate."

Rose was unwillingly able to crack a smile at his joke, but then did her best to hide it. "Was that a smile?" The Doctor teased.

"No." Rose denied.

"You smiled," the Doctor sung.

"No, I didn't," Rose replied.

The Doctor sighed. "Oh, c'mon, Rose. All I did was change- argh!" he struggled. the Doctor doubled over in pain, holding his stomach. He quickly stood up straight, took a deep breath in and exhaled; flowing from his mouth was a long stream of yellow mist, the same that appeared when he was changing. "Uh-oh," the Doctor said as he watched the energy fade. "the change it going a bit wrong," he noted.

"Look," Rose muttered as she began to panic. "Let's go find Captain Jack; he'll know what to do."

"Nah, he's busy!" the Doctor exclaimed as he bent over. "He's got plenty to do, rebuilding the Earth!" At the height he was at, he looked just under the Console to see a familiar, but hardly used button. "Hello… I haven't used this one in _years_…" he flicked the switch, giving the TARDIS a violent jolt, causing the three of them to fall against the Console.

"What're you doing?!" Rose yelled at him.

"Just putting on a bit of speed!" he replied aggressively. He began pressing several more buttons, practically ripping them off from the amount of force her was using, yelling all the while, "That's it! Oh, my beautiful ship, faster, that's a girl! We wonna go faster, wonna brake the time limits!"

"Stop it!" Rose ordered.

"Oh, don't be so dull; let's have a bit of fun!" the Doctor screamed. "Let's _rip _through that Vortex!" he stopped for just a moment, his voice calming. "The Regeneration's going wrong, I can't stop myself… ahh, my head…" he grimaced in pain, then going back to his maniac side. "Faster! Let's open those engines!" A moment later, an alarm bell started to ring. "What's that?" Rose cowered.

The Doctor appeared next to her, laughing manically. "Crash land! Ha!"

"Do something!" Rose barked.

"Too late!" the Doctor replied excitedly. "Out of control! Oh, I love it!" he exclaimed, jumping slightly. "Hold on tight, here we go!" he looked at the pair of them intently as they hung onto the Console. "Christmas Eve!"

Like the Doctor proclaimed, they really did rip out of the Vortex. They ended up at the Powell Estate, crashing into numerous buildings as they sped by. When they landed, Rose and Eliza ended up in a heap on the floor. "Was he always like this?" Eliza asked herself, getting up a few moments after the Doctor went out the doors to greet Jackie and Mickey. Before she could stop herself, she fell out of the doors to see her guardian passed out on the floor, Rose next. "What happened?" Rose asked. "Is he alright?"

"I don't know," Mickey replied. "He just keeled over. But who is her? Where's the Doctor?"

"That's him," Rose replied. "Right in front of you."

"What do you mean 'that's the Doctor'?" Jackie asked, looking down at the stranger. "Doctor who?"

"That's him, Jackie," Eliza replied. "That's 'the Doctor', that's our Doctor," Eliza looked around, hoping no-one saw their grand entrance. "Right, you lot, get him upstairs, quickly."

"Why, what's wrong?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling," Eliza replied. "I'll meet you up there in about an hour, lock your door."

Eliza walked back into the TARDIS, running towards her room. Quickly, she undressed and put her black leather coat on, strapping her weapons on her back. She needed to go somewhere, but first, she needed answers. Answers only she could get from herself.

Eliza grabbed a piece of paper from the stack and pulled out the all too familiar letter, setting it on her desk. She took a pen, and began writing out the letter in front of her.

_Identical… _Eliza thought as she compared the letters, both finished now. "The writing is identical…" she whispered. Yes, she'd had her suspicions, but this proved it, and the signature was a spot on match. She'd written this letter, she'd dumped herself on the Doctor. Why? Maybe to bring forth the Cub? She could have done that easily without the Doctor's help. And why'd she take away her own memories? All these questions, so few answers.

Knowing it was the wrong this to do, Eliza ran to Jason's old room. She kicked the door down, burst in and searched for the Photo Album. Flipping through the pages, she landed on the one of Jason, the Doctor and the dark skinned woman, all smiling at the camera. She looked further back than that, but failed to see any photo's of her- well, one of future her, but no _her_- nor did she see one of Rose.

Eliza sighed in frustration and threw the Photo Album across the room, letting out an ear splitting scream. "It doesn't make sense!" she bellowed. She sat back down on the bed, gripping her hair. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" she screamed at the Universe.

Eventually, she calmed down, and pulled out the letter again. One of the newly formed memories said something about the it. She unfolded it and re-read it, only coming upon new writing on the other side of the page, where the old-new writing was settled. _"Come to 28 Sultan Street in London ASAP"_

Sighing, Eliza pocketed the letter, and stood up. She wanted answers; she was going to get them. She walked quietly up to the Powell Estate, knocking on the door.

Jackie answered it a few seconds later, rushing her in. "He's in the spare room, here." Jackie said, opening the door, revealing the Doctor, fast asleep in the bed. "Is that Harriet Jones?" she heard Rose's voice ask. At the name, Eliza brightened up as bit, walking into the room and seeing Rose's suspicion was correct. On the TV, slap bang in the middle of cameras and microphones, was Harriet Jones, dressed for business and ready for action.

"How is she on the telly?" Rose asked her mother.

"She's the Prime Minister now," Jackie replied. Eliza and Rose smiled at each other, remembering what she's done for her country.

"Hannibal," Eliza quoted, Rose laughing at the inside joke.

"They're calling it 'Britain's Golden Age'," Jackie informed them. "They keep on saying my Rose has met her."

"Done more than that," Rose smiled. "We stopped World War Three with her."

"All that time ago when she was just a back-bencher," Eliza added. A few other scenes passed on the telly, Harriet talking about the new Space Probe that they were sending into space. The telly switched over, Eliza remembering the letter. "By the way, I have to go," she said to the two. "I've got business to attend to."

"Where are you going?" Rose asked quickly. "You can't leave me here with him."

"Don't worry," Eliza replied. "I'll be back later. A couple of hours max," Rose gave her a look, Eliza saying, "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay? I'll see you soon."

She skipped out of the door, locking the TARDIS as she went past it. It took her roughly an hour to reach the destination she was told, but she knew it was the right place just by knocking on the door.

She heard a bark from inside, a bark that made her smile from ear to ear. _"Hey there, Wolf!"_

"_Mistress!" _the voice called back. The dog began to whine as he scratched on the door. "Alright, alright, calm down, Wolf," said a voice Eliza recognised. The door opened, revealing Jason, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Do you have an appointment?"

"In fact I do," Eliza said, lifting the letter. "How've you been?" she asked as she stepped in the house, Wolf jumping up at her and licking her face and hands.

"Fine," he replied. "It's not been that long since I left you guys. Take your boots off, mum doesn't like dirt."

"I know," Eliza chuckled. She slipped off the boots and followed Jason through the house. They walked into the living room, a woman sat in a chair watching telly. She'd seen this woman before; in Jason's Photo Album. She was the woman who was holding the baby him. This was Jason's mother. "This is as fast as ASAP is to you?" she asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she dragged her eyes from the TV.

"Sorry," Eliza shrugged, "lost my way three times."

"I know you did," the woman replied, switching the telly off. "So, where do you want to start?"


	2. Christmas Invasion Part 2

_**Christmas Invasion Part 2**_

After Jason's mother gave a very long… sleepy speech about what was to happen and what was not, Eliza stared down at the ground as she fiddled with the chain on her coat. "So, this isn't down to anyone else?" Eliza asked the woman. "Only I can do this?"

"Yeah," Jason's mother replied. "Being as your dad doesn't have anymore children after you, you and your children are the only ones who fit the job description. The Cycle has to continue, Rivianna."

Eliza nodded and sighed, seeing no alternative. "When do I apply?"

The woman smiled and held out her hands. "Come here, Cub."

Eliza didn't know what was happening, really. She felt like she was floating. She opened her eyes to see nothing but black space for as far as she could see, a few planets visible, but nothing else. The stars glittered in front of her, Eliza reaching out to them.

"_You know who I am?" _asked a voice. Eliza jumped back at the voice in surprise, nether the less, she recognised it.

"_Yeah, I think so," _Eliza replied confidently.

"_Then let's end this, quickly." _the voice said. _"Do you, Rivianna, take the responsibility, for you, your children, and every descendant of your line, to become Guardians of this Universe, to smite down any signs of trouble when they arise?"_

"_Yes," _Eliza replied immediately. She didn't know where she was, but it was making her light headed.

"_Then you, Rivianna, shall be the successor of the Time Lords!" _the voice replied triumphantly, almost happily. Gravity, now deciding it wanted a part in this, began to pull her down. She fell back, but did not hit the ground. Instead, she opened her eyes and found she was in the Time Vortex, falling and spinning, falling and spinning…

She saw the TARDIS not to far away, doing the same. She tried to call for the Doctor, but no words came. Instead, there was a long, beautiful note that rung through the Vortex, making the TARDIS spin out of control and out of the never ending cylinder.

She awoke in a street, stood straight up on her feet, with a few others. The Doctor, in a dressing gown and pyjama's, which she'd ask about later, Rose, Mickey, Harriet Jones and a stranger, the TARDIS not too far away.

The Doctor gave her a surprised look, then turned his attention back to the sky, a huge, great, big massive ship floating right above their heads. "I take I've missed quite a bit, then?" Eliza asked, attracting the attention the others.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose demanded. "You said a couple o' hours max. It's been over twenty four!"

"Twenty four?" Eliza pondered. "That's a whole day," she began laughing, kicking a stone on the floor. "Weeeell, see, while you guys were… doing stuff, I was… well, I was sleeping, I guess."

Before anyone could ask questions, the ship above them began to move. It rose above their heads, turning direction, shooting off towards the sky.

Rose, in happiness of their victory, jumped on Mickey's back. "Yeah, and don't come back!" she screamed after them.

"Yeah!" Mickey cheered. "It. Is. Defended!"

Eliza watched as the ship sped out of sight, then turned to see everyone. Rose and Mickey were still cheering, The Doctor had walked up to Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. Eliza quickly began to feel out of place, like she didn't belong. And the sad truth was, she didn't. Not anymore.

Rose dragged her out of her thoughts, grabbed her and pulling her in for a hug. "We thought you were dead! After you didn't come back- well, we didn't know what to think."

"That's not really fair," Eliza mocked. "All those time you nearly die, I keep faith in you, but the one time I swan off, nooooo."

Rose smiled, pulling her in for another hug, this time Eliza savouring it.

"Oh, my God, Rose!" Jackie's voice called.

"Oh, talking of trouble," the Doctor muttered as Rose ran to her mother.

"You know, I think this new you is very… cheeky," Eliza commented.

The Doctor smiled at her. "Good cheeky, or bad cheeky?"

Eliza paled, watching as Rose, Mickey and Jackie embraced each other. "Seriously, you have _no_ idea how wrong that sentence is."

He gave her another smile, then turning to Jackie. "That's all I needed! Cup of tea!"

"I said so!" Jackie exclaimed. "Is it really him though? Is it really the Doctor?" Something caught her eye, Jackie turning her attention to it. "Oh, my God! It's the bleeding Prime Minister!"

Eliza laughed again, watching as Jackie caused a fuss over the new presence, Rose telling her to pipe down.

"_I'm going to miss this…" _Eliza thought mournfully. Unknown to her, the Doctor heard her comment.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, frowning at her.

Before Eliza could explain her meaning, there was a violent rumbling under their feet. All of them looked up to the ship that was still sailing away, three great green beams shooting from the Earth, colliding with the ship, blasting it into millions of tiny pieces.

The Doctor's frown turned into a vengeful expression as he turned to Harriet Jones. One thing that this new him had that the other him had as well was the 'Oncoming Storm Stare', as Eliza called it. "That was murder!" he hissed.

"That was defence," Harriet battles. "It's adapted from alien technology, a ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving!"

"You said it yourself, Doctor," Harriet battled. "They'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time; you come and go. It happened today, Mr Llewellyn and the Major. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

The Doctor shook his head. "Britain's Golden Age…" he said bitterly.

"It comes with a price," Harriet countered.

"I gave them the wrong warning," the Doctor claimed. "I should have told them to run, run away and hide because the monsters are coming; the Human Race."

"Those are the people I represent, I did on their behalf." Harriet snapped.

"And I should have stopped you."

"What does that make you Doctor?" Harriet snared. "Another alien threat, the pair of you?" She gestured to Eliza and him.

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man!" The Doctor bellowed as he approached her, herself looking completely terrified as she looked up at him, but she still stood her ground. "I could bring down your government with just a single word."

This time, Harriet tried a different approach. "You're the most remarkable man I've ever met," she admitted. "But I don't think you're quite capable of that."

"No, not one word," the Doctor agreed. "Just six."

"I don't think so," Harriet replied, panic evident in her voice.

"Six words," he repeated.

"Stop it!" she snapped.

"Six," the Doctor said in finality. He walked over to the man who accompanied her, taking the earpiece out and handing it to him. He leaned closer to the mans ear, whispering so only he could hear, "_Don't you think she looks tired?"_

Eliza chuckled at this. If it had been the previous Doctor who had threatened Harriet that way, he would have said something completely different.

The Doctor walked away from the man, who was seriously thinking about what he'd said, looking at Harriet every few seconds. The Doctor walked past his TARDIS, the rest of the group following him, Eliza taking her place beside him. _"Would you really have done it?" _she asked him.

"_Nah," _the Doctor replied. _"Wouldn't have wasted my breath." _Eliza nodded, before stopping, grabbing the Doctor by the wrist. "We'll meet you back at the Estate!" Eliza called to Rose, Jackie and Mickey, who continued walking as she dragged the Doctor back to the TARDIS.

"What-" the Doctor stammered as she pulled him towards the TARDIS Closet.

"Do you really think I'm gonna let you walk around in your jim-jams?" Eliza asked him. "Really, Doctor, I thought you knew me better than that," the Doctor smiled at her knowingly, and then she turned back and out of the Closet, walking towards her room.

She took a deep breath before entering. Everything was exactly as she'd left it, even the covers, which were unmade. She looked around the room, taking everything in as she walked around. She soon realised that her room on board the TARDIS was an exact replica of the one she had at her home.

_Home… _she thought, collapsing on the bed, taking in her own scent as she pushed the pillow to her face. What was she thinking, taking that job? Not like she had a choice, mind. She knew what would happen if she didn't. No. She was happy with the way things were, she thought. She was just going to miss everything. The Doctor, Rose, travelling with them. Sure, she'd be doing some travelling on her own, but it wouldn't be the same. Heaving herself off her bed, she grabbed a bag, packing the clothes in her room it and dumping it on the bed. Looking in the mirror, she finally understood what the Face of Boe meant, all that time ago. She smiled as she remembered his true identity, and wondered where he was right now.

Sighing, she grabbed the bag on her bed and wondered towards the door, taking a final look, then turning off the light, closing the door, gently, but firmly behind her.

She looked back at the door, the letters 'RMT' etched into the door. Eliza smiled, thumping the TARDIS walls for the last time, feeling herself choking up already. _"Don't try and tell me you aint sad about this either, Red." _she told the TARDIS.

"_Truly, I am saddened by your inevitable departure," _the TARDIS replied, a gentle hum filling Eliza's mind. _"But we all knew this would happen eventually, My Cub. We shall meet each other again."_

Eliza nodded, and then walked back towards the Closet. From her childhood, she'd grown up being told stories of the Doctor's never ending adventures and tales, but never did she think she'd actually meet him. The Doctor in his brown suit, big hair and cocky attitude.

He was looking himself over in the mirror when she found him, checking to see if he had any other moles he was unaware of. He checked his teeth, then the rest of his face. Nodding, she heard, _"Yeah… this will do for a while."_

"Even if you are a pretty boy?" Eliza teased, causing the Doctor to turn around slowly, still looking in the mirror. When he did eventually meet her eyes, he said, "Weeellll, can't be all that bad, can it?" he asked, and then noticed all her gear. "What did you mean earlier? You said you'd miss this?"

Eliza gave him a sad smile. "My time's up," she said mournfully. "You always said you were only my babysitter, well, now the baby's all grown up, the curse has been lifted," she joked. Eliza then sighed as he met her eyes again, watching his face fall slowly. "I've got all my memories back now, Gramps. Time to go home. See my mum and dad," Eliza nodded at her plans, then ended, "Then, I have a job to do. A pretty long one, at that."

"What job?" the Doctor asked. Eliza chuckled. He still had his questions, that's for sure. "I can't really tell you, but you'll be seeing me around."

The Doctor nodded, then walked towards her, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame. "I'd better be," he replied as she returned the embrace. It was strange. This time last year, he thought of her as the biggest curse he'd ever been put under, something to drag him down. But once he got used to her, he became dependant on her. She was the first companion he had since the Time War, he needed her company. And now she was leaving.

"Don't gimme all that!" Eliza grumbled. "You've still got Rose. And this is 'see you later', not 'good-bye', do you understand me, Gramps?" she separated from him, giving him a smile. "Now cheer up. Jackie's making Christmas Dinner!"

Giving her a meek smile, the Doctor replied, "I still think I'd be safer with the nut loaf."  
"Oh, please," Eliza said, nudging him in the ribs. "You haven't even tried her cooking."

"And for good reason!" the Doctor replied in his defence. "Rose gave me fair warning."

They debated what Jackie's cooking would be like all the way to the Estate, using the TARDIS because it was a little bit quicker. She walked in through the door, Eliza dropping the bag by the coat hanger, the closing of the door grabbing Rose's attention. The Doctor raised his eye brows, waiting for her opinion of his new dress attire. She gave him a strong smile, nodding. He smiled back at her, him and Eliza both taking their coats off as they say down at the table.

Soon, they were all sat in a circle around the big, fat, family meal, wearing paper crowns upon their heads, laughing as they ate. Eliza looked around the table happily. This was defiantly one of the moments she was going to remember. So insistent of the fact, she demanded a photo. Grabbing an old camera from the draw, Jackie set it on timer, all five of them in the shot, smiling at the camera with their glasses raised. Eliza took photo and set it in her pocket safely.

She looked at her former guardian, smiling widely at him. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, he would have said I don't do that'. But here he was, sitting down with the Tyler's and Smith, eating a meal with them. It all seemed so… domestic for him. She chuckled at the thought as Harriet Jones appeared on television, insisting to the press surrounding her that there was nothing wrong with her health. The Doctor and Eliza smiled at his action, Eliza muttering, "You naughty boy, you…"

"Like she didn't deserve it," the Doctor replied harshly.

Soon after, they were all outside, after being told by Jackie's friend that it had started to snow. Eliza grabbed her bag after everyone had gone out, taking one more slice of turkey. Taking the photo out of her pocket, she closed it in her hands and concentrated. Opening her hands, there were two photo's now placed securely within her mitts. She placed one of them on the table, writing on the back of it 'See you soon. Lots of love, Eliza x' She signed it with her signature, her little way of telling Jackie she's found the person who dumped her off at the TARDIS. She walked out of the flat, looking down at the Doctor and Rose, who were watching the sky and planning their next route. The Doctor caught a glimpse of her in the corner of his eye and smiled, nudging Rose.

She nodded in farewell at the two, then walked silently down the ramp. _No,_ She thought. _I'll give them a show._

Concentrating again, she felt herself speed across the sky, flying above their heads, a colour as blue as the TARDIS illuminating the sky as she began to disappear. Next thing she knew, she was spinning in the Time Vortex, letting The Cub guide her home. She felt herself rip through something slightly, but soon forgot about it.

Riva opened her eyes when she felt herself hit the ground. She smiled at the familiar scent of salt water found its way to her nose. She looked up to see her old happy place; the cave she'd found as a young child. She walked foreword, smiling at the vacant beach. She trudged her way up to the end of the beach, onto the road. Riva turned around and look at the sign, laughing in irony. "Dårlig Ulv Stranden," she muttered. Riva turned from the beach, taking off at a run for home.

_**A.N: Hope you enjoyed **__** Hope I didn't give too much away. I will not be doing some of the episodes; ones include Love and Monsters and School Reunion. Sorry for anyone that likes these particular episodes, I really don't. BTW, thank you all so much for the feedback I got. You guys have no idea how surprised I was when I looked at my inbox this morning and saw like 20 emails *smiley face***_


	3. New Earth Part 1

_**New Earth Part 1**_

Rose woke up in her bed, her face thrown in her fluffy feather pillow, her devout lovely and warm from a nights worth of her body heat. This was a normal morning for Rose on the TARDIS. It was like she had an automatic clock in her head.

_Any second now, _Rose thought. _Eliza is going to hammer on my door, asking what I want for breakfast._

And damn it be true, there was a knocking on the door. "Rose," a voice whispered.

"Just do me a bacon bap, I'll be out in a minute…" Rose muttered back, sleep evident in her voice. There was a rustling in the background, indicating that Eliza was walking across the room, probably with a jug full of ice cold water, waiting for Rose to look up so she could pour it, like she did last time. Instead, she was met with a cold hand on her shoulder, the voice whispering again, "Rose? Rose, wake up, darlin'," she opened her eyes to see her mother looking down on her, shaking to get her to wake up. "It's nearly ten, sweetheart. I aint letting you sleep all day, you know."

Rose frowned at her mother. _What the hell's she doing on the TARDIS? _She thought. Sitting up in her bed, Rose looked around, coming to a conclusion. _Ahh, ok… _Looking around, she found she was in her room, back on the Powell Estate. Slowly, she began to recall the memories of the previous day, making the thought of her being in her old bed much more understandable.

Rose reached up, stretching her arms and legs before casting the blanket away, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. She looked out the window to see the TARDIS just outside the Estate, the door opening as the Doctor came out, locking the door behind him. Rose smiled at him. Yesterday, she thought that _her _Doctor, all big ears and leather, was dead, and by the way her was talking to her and Eliza, he might as well had been, for all she knew.

_Eliza… _Rose thought sadly, sitting back down on her bed. Not only was this an adjustment for the Doctor, but also for her, in more ways than one. Eliza had left the previous day, to go home, the Doctor had told her. Rose was happy for her friend, really, she was. But at the same time, Rose knew she'd miss her dearly. She was the only one on the ship that she could have her 'Girl talks' with, the only one who knew most of her secrets, the only one she could ever have her daily custard and Swiss role with. Eliza was practically her sister after the year they'd known each other, and now she was gone.

"But don't worry," The Doctor had told her after Eliza's departure, which was seen by most of London, astronomers wondering was what it was and getting to work immediately. "We'll be seeing her around."

Taking a breath, Rose decided she'd see her when the time came, not a lot more she could do about it. She nodded her head and struggled out of her grave.

Soon, both she and the Doctor were spinning through the Time Vortex, Rose running to her room, dumping her massive bag of clothes in there, even though the Doctor had insisted she didn't need it as the TARDIS had a whole wide range of clothes to choose from.

Walking out of the TARDIS, Rose took in her surroundings. "It's the year five billion and twenty three. We're in the Galaxy M87 and this," The Doctor gestured to the area. "This is New Earth." Just as he said that, two flying vehicles swooped over their heads, running towards the silver, mighty city, which stood as an island in the middle of the water.

"That's amazing!" Rose exclaimed in wonder. "God, I will never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky…" She wrinkled her nose. "What's that smell?"

The Doctor grinned and bent down, picking a few strands of grass from the ground. "Apple grass."

Rose laughed, then sighed as if he was stating the obvious. "Apple grass," she nodded. She looked back to the city, watching as more of the vehicles ran across the sky. "Oh, I love this. Can I just say," Rose starting, taking the Doctor's arm. "travelling with you, I love it."

"Me too," the Doctor grinned. "C'mon!" He grabbed her by the hand, encouraging her to run across the grass with him. Finding a nice spot, the Doctor took on his jacket, placing it on the ground, lying down upon it, Rose following suit. "So the year Five Billion, the sun expands and the Earth gets roasted-"  
"Our first date," Rose teased fondly.

"We had chips," the Doctor replied happily. "Anyway, planet's gone, rocks and dust, but the Human Race lives on, spreading out amongst the stars. As soon as the Earth burns up, people get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but they find this place," he said, propping himself up on his elbows to look around. "Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit- lovely! Call goes out, the humans move in."

"What's the city called?" Rose asked.

The Doctor smirked. "New New York."

"Oh, c'mon," Rose said sceptically.

"It is!" the Doctor laughed. "It's the city of New New York!" he looked towards the city and continued, "Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original. So that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

Rose looked down at him and chuckled, just imagining that the big ears were about to pop back at any moment, the brown suit about to turn into a leather jacket and jeans. However, she wasn't going to complain; a _lot _of the changes were good. "What?" he asked when he noticed her staring.

Rose shook her head. "You're so different."

The Doctor smiled as he joked, "New New Doctor," the pair of them laughed at his cheesy joke, the Doctor unable to shake the feeling of being watched.

"So, can we go and visit New New york, so good they named it twice?" Rose asked at she ascended from the ground.

"Well, actually, I thought we'd go there first," the Doctor denied, looking away from the city and towards a lone building, standing just off the edge of the water. "It's some sort of Hospital. The green moon on the side, that's the Universal symbol for Hospitals," he put his coat back on as he stood up with Rose, putting his hand in his pocket and bringing out his physic paper. "I got a message on this," he explained, opening it up, showing 'Ward 26'. He closed it, returning the paper to his pocket. "Someone wants to see me."

"And I thought we were just sightseeing," Rose sighed. "Come on then!" she said enthusiastically, taking his arm again. "Let's go buy some grapes."

They walked into the Hospital, the Doctor muttering something under his breath. "That's a bit rich, coming from you," she commented, teasing him about his choice of name.

"I can't help it," the Doctor defended himself. "I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps." As they walked, Rose looked around the white room, a few glass pillars spreading from the ground to the ceiling. "Very smart," She noted. "Not exactly NHS."

"No shop, I like the little shop," the Doctor complained.

"You would have thought, this far in the future, they'd have cured everything," Rose said.

The Doctor shook his head. "The Human Race moves on, but so does the viruses. It's an ongoing war," the Doctor began to ramble,Rose's attention being taken away by a woman walking passed her. Sorry- not a woman- a _cat _woman. Wide eyed, Rose watched her walk by, catching up to the Doctor. "They're cats," she whispered.  
"Don't stare," the Doctor chastised. "Think about what you look like to them," he looked her up and down. "All pink and yellow," he looked over to a small, vacant area of the hallway. "That's where I'd put the shop!" Seeing an open lift as Rose looked to see where he was pointing, he walked in. "Ward 26, thanks," he said to the lift, turning to see that Rose was not in the lift with him. The doors closed just as she was running towards them. "Too late, I'm going up! Ward 26, and watch out for the disinfectant!"

"The what?" the Doctor heard her reply.

"The disinfe- oh, you'll find out." the Doctor muttered. The Doctor knew what was going to happen. Shoving him hands in his pocket, he listened, then smiled slightly when he heard, _"Commencing stage one- disinfectant."_ From the top and sides of the lift, three sprays of disinfectant wash over him, soaking him to the bone. As soon as the shower was finished, he was puffed in a snow white powder. When the blow dryer came on, her spread his coat, making sure he got dry, smiling immensely as the wind blew through his hair.

The wind stopped, the doors opened and the Doctor strode out. However, as soon as his foot hit the marble flooring, he felt something tingle at the back of his mind, something he hadn't felt since yesterday, when Eliza left the Estate. In fact, this tingling was very similar to when she was talking to him through Telepathy. _"Eliza?" _he called. He was expecting to see her soon, but not the day after she'd left.

Receiving no reply, he noted to keep a close eye on the tingling. After a while of standing around, one of the nurses approached him. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Me?" he asked. "I'm just looking," he winced inwardly, hating the fact that he sounded like a tourist snooping around a shop.

He followed the cat-nurse around the Ward, commenting, "Nice place. By the way, there wasn't a shop downstairs. I'd put a shop down there. Not a big one, just a place where people can… shop."

"The Hospital is a place of healing," the Nurse said patiently.

"Well, shopping does some people a world of good," the Doctor countered. "Not me, just other people."

"The Sister of Plentitude take a life long vow to help and to mend," the Nurse replied. They passed a very large man lying on a bed, who sounded as if he was having difficulty breathing. The Doctor stepped closer to have a look, seeing that half his neck was literally stone. Taking another step foreword, a woman hissed, "Excuse me. Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York."

The Doctor nodded, acting as if he cared, but his expression told the truth. He gestured to the Duke. "That's Petrifold Regression, right?"

"I'm dying, Sir," the Duke struggled. "A life time of charity and abstinence, and it ends like this," the woman turned back to the Doctor, an evil look in her eye. "Any statement made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance."

The Duke gasped, reaching foreword. "Flue Clovis!" he gasped. The woman returned to the man, clasping his hand to comfort him. "I'm so weak…" he whispered.

The woman turned around to the Nurse and the Doctor, spitting, "Sister Jatt, some privacy, if you please."

The Nurse nodded, gesturing to the Doctor to keep walking. When they were out of earshot, she claimed, "He'll be up and about in no time."

"I doubt it," the Doctor replied sceptically. "Petrifold Regression, he's turning into stone. There won't be a cure for him for about… ohhh… a thousand years. He might be up and about, but only as a stature."  
"Have faith in the Sisterhood," the Nurse replied. "But is there no-one here you recognise? It's very odd for a person to visit without knowing the patient."

The Doctor looked around the room, his eyes resting on a familiar face. "No," he smiled. "I think I found him." The Nurse followed his gaze, her own eyes met with the glass dome of the Face of Boe.

"Novice Hame, if I can leave this gentleman in your care," Jatt said to another Cat-Nurse as she approached.

"Oh, and I think my friend got lost," the Doctor rushed. "Her name's Rose Tyler, could you ask at reception?"

Jatt nodded, then walked away. He turned his attention back to the Face of Boe, smiling at his old friend. "I'm afraid the Face of Boe is asleep," said Hame. "It's all he tends to do these days. Are you a friend?"

"We met just the once on Platform One," the Doctor replied. "What's wrong with him?"

Hame looked shocked, then recovered. "I'm so sorry, I thought you knew," she stumbled. "The Face of Boe is dying."

"Of what?"

"Old age," she replied mournfully. "One thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old, some people say millions- although that's impossible."

"Oh, no," the Doctor smiled. "I like impossible," he turned back to the Face of Boe, crouching in front of the glass. "I'm here," he muttered. "I know I look a bit different, but it's me. It's the Doctor," the Face of Boe looked like he was about to stir, but gave out a long sigh instead.

"He doesn't often get visitors," Hame told him. "Today he's had two."

"Who else came to visit him?" the Doctor replied, standing up but continuing to look down at the glass.

"She didn't say," Hame shook her head. "She said she was a very old friend of the Face of Boe. He was awake then. They talked for such a long time," Hame frowned in confusion, then added, "She left not long before you came in, actually."

The Doctor frowned also, running a hand through his hair. "What was she wearing?"

"Excuse me?"

"Her clothes, what was she wearing?"

Hame thought back to only fifteen minutes before. "Well, she wore a black coat. I didn't see anything else, Sir." The Doctor smiled. _So she was here, after all, _he thought.

"There's not much to do," Hame continued. "Just maintain his smoke. And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing sometimes, in my mind," she mused. "Such ancient songs. The rest of Boe-kind became extinct long ago. He's the only one left. Legend says that the Face of Boe has watched the Universe grow old. There are all sorts of superstitions around him. One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret. He will speak these words only to ones like himself. It is said he'll talk to wonderers. To the man without a home, and to the woman without a place; The Lonely God and The Protector of the Universe."

The Doctor nodded, wondering who this 'woman without a place' was. He had his suspicions, being as the Face of Boe only had one other visitor that day, but Eliza had a place in the Universe, she had a home, so it couldn't be her.

Running his hands through his hair again, he wondered where Rose had wondered to. Surly it didn't take this long to ride a lift up 26 floors? Noticing a phone by the wall, he punched in her number and waited for her to answer. _"…Watcher."_

"Where've you been?" the Doctor asked. "How long does it take to get to Ward 26?"

"_I'm on my way, Governor!" _replied Rose. _"I shall proceed up the apples and pairs!"_

Casting her new strange accent aside, he smiled. "You'll never guess. I'm with the Face of Boe. Do you remember him?"

Rose laughed on the other end of the phone. _"'course I do. That big old… boat race…"_ Before he could correct her, the Doctor heard a mighty chuckle, coming from the Duke of Manhattan. "I've got to go, see you in a minute," he put the phone back on the wall and strode to the Duke, who was laughing happily.

Soon after finding that the Duke had been completely cured of his Petrifold Regression- and being told he was the Duke's good luck charm- he began looking over some of the other patients, amazed at the quick recoveries they were making for life time illnesses. Noticing Rose walk into the room, he greeted, "There you are! Come look at this patient!" he took her by the arm, walking her over to one of the patients, who was floating in mind air. "Marconi's disease. Should take years to recover- two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade, it's amazing. Their medical science is _way _advanced." he turned to another patient, who was complete white, blending into the bed. "And this one. Pallidome Pancosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine," he waved to the man, then turned back to Rose. "I've got to see a terminal, I've got to see how they do this." They walked through a door, the Doctor continuing to ramble. "Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"

Rose stopped and turned to him, casting her voice out and talking as if she were the Queen of England. "I can't Adam and Eve it," she said poshly.

The Doctor looked at her with a confused look. "Wh- what's with the voice?"

"Oh, I don't know," Rose mumbled. "Just larking about in New Earth… New me…" she looked him up and down, him taking notice that most of her shirt buttons were undone, showing things he never thought he'd see. Although he'd never admit it out loud, he could feel himself getting hotter, a small amount of blood rushing to his cheeks. _You're a __**Time Lord**__, for Rassilon's sake! Superior biology… Okay, I'm fine… I think…_

"Well, I can talk," the Doctor joked, amazed how his voice sounded relatively normal. "New New Doctor." He grinned at her, then found that she was looked very intently at his lips.

"Hmm… aren't you just," Rose whispered just enough for him to hear. Before he could even blink, she grabbed him by the face and pulled him in, smacking a kiss straight on his lips. Although it was quick, it seemed to have lasted a lot longer for the Doctor. In his old body, he might have pulled away, but this one was more… reluctant to stop such things. _Especially _when she was running her hand through his hair like _that._

"_Superior biology, my ass," _he heard from the back of his mind, but was too distracted to think on it properly.

She pulled away, in his opinion too quickly, a red blush on her face that made her look… adorable? She pushed the hair in front of her face back behind her ear, stuttering, "T… Terminal's this way…" she walked towards her pointed direction, breathing heavily as she went. The Doctor watched he go, looking extremely dazed, his hair slightly tousled. "Yeah," he said in a high pitched voice. He ran his hand over his ruffled hair, flattening it out. "Still got it," he ended, walking to follow her.

Knowing she was about to say something, he beat her to it. _"Shut up," _the Doctor hissed at the voice. He looked back to see Eliza, leaning cockily on one of the glass pillars. She smiled widely and winked cheekily at him, blowing him a kiss. She chuckled, stuck her hands in her pocket and skipped off.

The Doctor and Rose soon found a computer screen, the Doctor walking straight to it, flicking buttons and touching part of the screen. "Nothing," the Doctor shook his head. "Nothing odd, surgery, post-op, and no sign of a shop… there should be a shop…" he pouted.

"No, it's missing something else," Rose insisted, taking much interest, much more interest than she usually would have, the Doctor noted. "When I was downstairs, those Nurse-Cat-Nun's were talking about intensive care, but where is it?"

"You're right," the Doctor agreed. "Well done."

"Why would they hide a whole department?" Rose continued, mainly to herself rather than the Doctor. "It's gotta be there somewhere. Search the Sub-Frame."

_Something's not right here… Since when did she know what a Search-Frame was?_

"What if the Search-Frame's locked?" the Doctor tested.

"Then try the Installation Protocol." Rose huffed impatiently.

"Yeah, 'course." the Doctor replied, taking out his Sonic Screwdriver and pressing it to the screen. Quickly, he felt a spark of anger heat him up. Something was wrong with his Rose- Something was wrong with _Rose_, he corrected- and it'd started when they got separated. He wasn't one hundred percent, but he was quite sure that the Nurses had something to do with it, and if that were the case… well, he was positive the Nurses wouldn't be having a good time answering to him.

A few moments later, the screen gave an unlocking sound. Backing away, they watched as the wall the screen was on descended into the ground, revealing a hallway. Smiling, Rose was the first to stride in, when usually she let the Doctor go first. "Intensive care… well, it looks intensive…" the Doctor said as he followed her in.


	4. New Earth Part 2

_**New Earth Part 2**_

The Doctor and Rose continued down huge flights of stairs, leading them to a cavernous room, each wall containing rows and rows and luminous green doors, railings to stop people from falling into the pitch black pit. Walking up to one of the doors, the Doctor Soniced the door open, a green gas oozing out. A man sat in a chair, covered in boils and surrounded by the gas, was looking at his intruders.

"That's disgusting," Rose muttered, sounding as if she was about to gag.

The Doctor nodded, but not in agreement with Rose's comment, to his own conclusion. _I'm going to have a little word with those cats… _he thought as he kept his anger down.

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor said quietly to the man, slowly closing the door and locking it. He walked to the next door, doing the same, only this time it was a woman. "What disease is that?" Rose asked in a disgusted tone.

"All of them," the Doctor replied gravely. "Every single disease in the Galaxy, they've been infected with them."

"What about us?" Rose asked, panicking. "Aren't we safe?"

"The air's sterile, just don't touch them," the Doctor said, closing the door. He looked back to the rest of the room, taking in how many green doors there were, his hatred for hospitals rising every second. "How many patients are there?" Rose asked.

"They're not patients," the Doctor spat.

"But they're sick," Rose protested.

"They were born sick," the Doctor, the anger showing in his voice. "They were meant to be sick, their entire existence is to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have a cure for everything, they've got the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm."

"But why don't they just die?"

"Plague carriers," The Doctor replied. "They last to go."

"It's for a greater cause," defended a small voice. They looked towards the end of the railing to see one of the Nurses walking toward them.

"Novice Hame," the Doctor hissed. "When you took your vows, did you agree to this?"

"The Sisterhood has sword to help," Hame replied gently.

"What, by killing?" the Doctor exclaimed.

"But they're not real people," Hame protested. "They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."

"What's the turnover?" the Doctor asked. "A thousand a day? Thousand the next? How many thousands? How many years? How many?!" he shouted.

"Man kind needed us," Hame explained. "They came to this planet with _so _many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try, we tried everything. We tried using clone-meat, and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow. So the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. And that's all they are. Flesh."

The Doctor shook his head violently. "These people are alive."

"But think of those humans out there," Hame replied, pointing to the sky. "Healthy and happy people, because of us."

"If they live because of this, then life is worthless," the Doctor spat.

"But who are you to decide that?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, walking closer. "And if you don't like it, you want to take it to a higher authority, there isn't one. It stops with me," Hame for a moment looked terrified as the Doctor towered over her.

"Just to confirm," Rose started, smirking slightly. "None of the humans in the city actually know about this?"

"Hold on," The Doctor butted in. "I can understand the bodies, and I can understand your vows. But one thing I can't understand is what have you done Rose?"

"I don't know what you mean," Hame replied.

"I am being very, very calm," the Doctor said darkly. "You wonna beware of that, very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being very, very calm is because the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed," the Doctor ended, steam practically running off him.

"I'm perfectly fine," Rose assured in vain.

The Doctor shook his head. "These people are dying, and _Rose_ would care."

Rose gave a sigh of disappointment. "Oh, alright, clever clogs," The Doctor turned around to face her, hoping to intimidate her, only to have her pull his tie out of his suit flirtatiously. "Smarty pants…" she added huskily, a playful smile spread on her face. "Lady Killer."  
"What's happened to you?" the Doctor replied as she pushed his tie up higher.

"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out," she explained, still playing with his tie.

"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded.

Rose's smile broadened. She pulled his tie so he leaned down slightly, herself going on tiptoes so she could whisper in his ear, "The last human."

_Wait… _The Doctor thought. _No! No, no, no, no, no, no…_

"Cassandra?" the Doctor asked, backing away as if he'd been burnt. _Cassandra from Platform One?_

His thoughts instantly went to when she'd kissed him, making him feel sick at the memory. "Oh, wake up and smell the perfume," Cassandra hissed, taking a tube of perfume from between her… exposed area, and squirting some in his face, the Doctor becoming unconscious immediately.

* * *

The Doctor woke up in a green room, instantly knowing where he was. _Cassandra… _he thought.

"Let me out!" he called. A few moments later, Cassandra came into view. "Aren't you lucky there was a spare?" she sung. "Standing room only."

"You've stolen Rose's body!" he yelled at her.

She huffed at his as if to say 'Thank you, Captain obvious'. "Over all the years, I have thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor," Cassandra claimed, pressing Rose's hands up against the glass. "And now, that's exactly what I've got; one thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top up every ten minutes, so you've got-" she checked her watch. "Three minutes. Enjoy."

"Just let Rose go, Cassandra," the Doctor begged.

"I will!" she promised. "As soon as I find someone younger and… less common, then I'll junk her with the waste. Now hushaby! It's show time," she began moving away, but was stopped when two Nurses walked towards her. "Anything we can do to help?"

Cassandra smiled. "Straight to the point, Whiskers. I want money."

_Why does it always come down to money with her? _The Doctor wondered.

"The Sisterhood is a charity, we don't give money. We only accept."

"The humans across the waters pay you a fortune," Cassandra laughed. "And that's exactly what I need. A one off payment, that's all I want. And in return, I will tell no one in the city anything of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?"

One of the Nurses smiled. "I'm afraid not."

"I'd really advise you to think about this," Cassandra warned.

"There's no need. I have to decline."

"I'll tell them," Cassandra warned. "And you've no way of stopping me. You're not exactly nuns with guns, you're not even armed."

"_Oh, God…" _Eliza muttered. _"Is this trampoline ever going to grow any brain cells?"_

"_Where are you?" _The Doctor asked.

"_Sitting next to the Face of Boe," _Eliza replied. _"How about you?" _

"_Eliza, you do realise this isn't the ideal time for casual conversation?"_

Through his mind conversation, he was drawn away by the sound of hissing and Cassandra shouting, "Chip, plan B!"

The Doctor watched as the door in front of him opened, the green gas pouring out onto he stumbled onto his feet. He looked around to see all of the other green doors in the room, all of which the sick were being held, were also stepping out of their prisons. "What have you done?" he bellowed at Cassandra.

"I gave the system a shot of Adrenalin, just to wake 'em up!" Cassandra replied, standing next to a pale man with tattoos on his face. "See ya!" she ran around the corner, leaving the Doctor to choose between her and the Nurses. Taking steps towards Cassandra, he called to the Nurses, "Don't touch them!" he ran after the other two, stopping to watch as the hundreds of thousands of sick were escaping from their pods.

"Oh, my God…" Cassandra said sickingly. The Doctor shot her a look, which she replied, "It wasn't me!"

"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra!" the Doctor yelled. He watched as the sick slopped down the stairs, slowly surrounding them. "We've got to go down."

"But there are thousands of them!" Cassandra protested.

"RUN!" The Doctor bellowed.

"_Wow, I heard that one from all the way up here," _Eliza commented. _"I think the building shook a little bit. I reckon this version of you needs anger management."_

Ignoring her, he continued to order Cassandra and Chip down the stairs as the sick followed them. They made their way towards the basement, coming to a lift which Cassandra desperately tried to open. "This building is under quarantine!" the Doctor claimed. "It's not gonna move!"

Recognising her surroundings, Cassandra ran passed a few of the sick, the Doctor following her and just skimming their hands, leaving Chip on the other side of the zombies. The Doctor turned back to get him, Cassandra grabbing his arm. "Leave him, he's only a clone thing- he's only got a half life! C'mon!" she went ahead, the Doctor apologising to him as Chip called 'Mistress!' reminding him very much of Wolf.

The two of them ran into a room, Cassandra going to open a door as the Doctor closed the one they'd just passed. Seeing the sick on the other side, Cassandra slammed the door shut. "We're trapped!" She panicked. "What're we going to do?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body," the Doctor told her. "You're compressing Rose to death!"

"But I've got nowhere to go," Cassandra protested. "My original skin's dead!"

"Not my problem," the Doctor snapped. "You can float like Atoms in the air. Now get out," he rose his Sonic in front of her threateningly. "Give her back to me."

Cassandra looked him up and down, smirking. "You asked for it," she said playfully. She took a deep breath in, exhaling quickly as a long strand of pink came out and threw itself into the Doctors mouth.

It was all a bit fuzzy after that, only able to remember the first parts due to Eliza's help, most memories of which he'd rather not have remembered. The Doctor, or Cassandra even, felt... taller. She liked it.

"Oh, blimey, my head..." Rose breathed as she looked around, the Doctor looking at the ground. "Where'd she go?" she looked at his face, his happy expression telling her all she needed to know. "Oh... this is very... _different,_" Cassandra said, looking down at her new body. "Goodness me, I'm a _man! _Yum! So many parts... and hardly used," she continued, walking around. Sharply, she began wiggling around quickly, adding, "Two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"

"Get out of him," Rose demanded, Cassandra ignoring her.

"Oh, God, he's slim," she muttered, cruising a hand down the Doctor torso. Looking back up at Rose, she smiled devilishly. "And a little bit foxy," she added, wiggling her eyebrows at Rose. "You thought so, too." Rose looking down and blushed slightly at the comment, Cassandra taking this opportunity. She began giggling then walked slowly to Rose. "I've been inside your head, you've been looking... you _like _it," she teased.

Before the conversation could continue, the doors burst open, many of the sick pouring out of the hallway. "What would he do?" Cassandra exclaimed in panic, hitting Rose's arm frantically. Looking around quickly, Rose noticed a ladder, behind them, which was going up. "Ladder," the muttered walking towards it.

Cassandra grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling Rose behind her. "Out of the way, Blondie!" Rushing up the ladder, not giving a second thought about where Rose was, Cassandra whimpered for a moment. "This is all your fault, you know!" she accused.

"Get out of the Doctor's body," Rose demanded, ignoring her accusation. "He could think of something."

"Yap, yap, yap..." Cassandra teased as she continued to climb. "_God,_ it's tedious inside your head, hormone city."

"Cassandra, we're going to die-" Rose started, but was cut short by one of the Nurses grabbing her ankle. "Get off of me!"

"All our good work," the Nurse hissed. "All that healing, the good name of the Sisterhood! You have destroyed everything!"

"Go and play with a ball of string," Cassandra said dismissively.

"Everywhere-disease! This is the Human World- sickness!" the Nurse replied. She wailed in pain suddenly, a few boils appearing on her face. Letting go of the ladder, it was revealed she'd been touched by the diseased, who were following them up the ladder.

"Move!" Rose bellowed at Cassandra as the Nurse hit the bottom of the ladder. Whimpering again, Cassandra hastily made her way up the ladder, Rose following her quickly behind. They reached the top of the ladder, a closed door as their only escape. "Now what do we do?" Cassandra asked as she looked down at the blonde below her.

"Use the Sonic Screwdriver," Rose told her as she looked down to watch the sick slowly chase them up the ladder. Cassandra stuck her hand in the Doctor's pocket, bringing out the device. "You mean this thing?"

"Yes, I mean 'that thing'!" Rose yelled.

"Well, I don't know how," Cassandra spat. "That girls locked away all his thoughts!"

"Then get back into me! The Doctor can open it!" Rose sighed in frustration as the sick got closer. "Do it!"

Shaking her head slowly, Cassandra muttered, "Hold on tight." Cassandra leaped back into Rose, the pink aura covering half Rose's face before it disappeared. "Oh... chavtastic again... open it!"

"Not 'till you get out of her," the Doctor spat darkly, pointing the Sonic threateningly at her.

"We need the Doctor!" Cassandra protested.  
"I order you to leave her!" he bellowed in reply. Sighing, Cassandra slipped back into the Doctor, undoing the switch. "No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout!" Cassandra said to anyone who'd listen.

"Cassandra, get out of him!" Rose ordered.

"But I cant go back into you," she whined. "He simply refuses, he's so rude."

"I don't care," Rose barked. "Just do something!"

Looking down at the sick who were now just a few more steps within reach, Cassandra looked like she was about to go sick. Swallowing down a lump in her throat, she muttered, "Oh, I am _so _gonna regret this..." Flying out of the Doctor, Cassandra slipped into the first sick person she could see. "Oh, sweet Lord... I look disgusting!"

The Doctor, happy, Sonciced the doors open, leaning back out to help Rose in. "Nice to have you back!" Rose smiled as she went through the door, put fell to the ground as Cassandra quickly jumped back into her.

"That is your last warning, Cassandra!" the Doctor bellowed once the door was secure.

Cassandra shook her head slowly, replying quietly, "Inside her head… so _alone…_ they keep reaching out just to hold us… all their lives, and they've _never _been touched…" the Doctor had hoped that this might have made Cassandra see through to him, to give him back Rose. He held out his hand to help her up. The banging on the door had gotten them moving again, the Doctor opened a door, finding that they'd returned to the Ward 26, Eliza sitting with her back up against the glass of the Face of Boe.

As she saw them, she got up, the Doctor and Cassandra going to greet her, being stopped by the woman who was with the Duke of Manhattan. She ran to them, a chair in both arms, as if she were about to run them through… with the chair. Sighing, Eliza grabbed the chair away from her and settled it down near a bed. "They wouldn't look so awake if they'd have been touched, Flau," she huffed at the woman.

The Doctor nodded Eliza in appreciation. "So what's going on up here?" the Doctor asked.

"There's nothing from the other Wards," Eliza replied as Flau walked towards the Duke. "Everyone thinks were the last ones alive. She," Eliza pointed to Flau. "Has been trying to send the city a message, trying to get back up, break the quarantine," she pulled out of her pocket a white communications device. "Took a little… violence, but she quickly shut up."

"You…" Cassandra pointed. "You, you're the one who was in her head!" she tapped Rose's forehead, continuing to point at Eliza.

"Oh, look, it's Queen Latifah." Eliza said in mock happiness. "How've you been, Cassie?"

"You were in Rose's head?" the Doctor butted in.

"To stop her from compressing Rose's mind completely," Eliza explained.

Nodding, noting to ask questions later, he pointed at the three women in from of him; Eliza, Cassandra and Novice Hame. "You three, with me," he looked around the room, calling to the rest, "Get me every solution to every single disease, move it!" Grabbing everything he needed as everyone else got what he ordered, he asked, "What are you doing here, Eliza? First place and time we go to, and you're here. I don't think that's just coincidence."

"Actually, you're wrong," Eliza replied, dumping some of the solutions on the bed. "I came to see the Face of Boe." Having a strong feeling she was lying, he grabbed a rope, tying it around him. Grabbing some of the solutions, he attached them to the rope. Once he was satisfied, he opened the lift. "They aren't working!" Cassandra reminded him.

"Not moving, different thing," he replied. Grabbing what looked like a zip wire handle, he jumped through the lift doors, taking hold of the wire and placing the handle onto the cable that would usually hold the lift, which was at the bottom of the building. He looked back to see Cassandra looking at him with wide eyes. "C'mon!" he encouraged.

She gave a small laugh. "Not in a million years."

"I need another pair of hands," the Doctor protested. "Since you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?"

"Grab hold of him before I push you," Eliza threatened. Cassandra looked back as her, almost daring her. Eliza took two steps foreword, Cassandra jumping before she could even touch her. "You're completely mad!" she yelled at the Doctor, then added seductively, "I can see why she likes you." Sonicing the handle, he yelled, "Going down!" The handle loosened its grip of the cable, speeding down all the way to the non working lift. Getting off him back, Cassandra straightened her shirt. "Well, that's one way to lose weight."

Ignoring her, he barked, "When I say so, take hold of that lever," he pointed. "I'm cooking up a cocktail," he grabbed one of the solutions, ripping it open and squeezing it into a large bowl, half of it already full from disinfectant. "That lever is gonna resist, but keep it in position," he ordered once all the solutions was emptied into the bowl. He opened the hatch that led into the lift, letting his legs drop. "Hold onto it with everything you've got."

"But what about you?" Cassandra asked.

"I've got an appointment," the Doctor claimed. "The Doctor is in!" he dropped into the lift, the doors of which were wide open, dozens of the sick were pacing around in the room. Banging on the walls to get attention, he called, "C'mon, I'm in here!" The sick turned their gaze to him, immediately walking towards him as fast as they could. "Come and get me, c'mon!"

"_Commencing stage one- disinfection," _the lift said. The liquid from the bowl on the top of the lift began emptying out through the shower. The first few infected that came into the lift had gotten soaked, looking down at their hands as the boils slowly, but surely began disappearing. Following the Doctors instruction to pass the pollution around, the infected in the lift began walking back to the people in the hall, touching their hands, the solution doing the rest.

Once the lift had emptied, the Doctor helped Cassandra down off the top of the lift. "What did they pass on?" she asked. "Did you kill them?"

"No," the Doctor replied happily. "That's your way of doing things," he walked out of the lift to properly see his work take action. "I'm the Doctor, and I cured them." Smiling, one of the young girls who had been infected walked up to the Doctor, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Yeah, there we go, sweetheart." After she'd let him go, he walked around the now un-infected. "It's a new sub-species, Cassandra. A brand new form of life! New Humans! You can't deny them, Cassandra, because you helped create them," he told her. Looking to her, he was surprised to see her smiling softly.

An hour later, help from the city had reached them. Police were taking the infected away from the hospital as the Doctor and Cassandra walked back into Ward 26. As they entered, they watched as some of the policemen were taking the Nurses away, one of them being Novice Hame.

"_Hey, Gramps," _Eliza called from the other end of the room. _"Come here."_

Looking to where the voice had come from, he looked across to see Eliza sitting with the now awake Face of Boe. He was smiling softly to her, her gliding a hand across the glass as the Doctor approached.

"You were supposed to be dying," the Doctor greeted.

"_There are more better things to do today," _the Face of Boe replied. _"Dying can wait."_

"Oh, I hate Telepathy," Cassandra complained. "Just what I need, a head full of big face."

Watching as Eliza paled slightly, she met the Doctors eyes, sinking slightly into her coat. Not seeming that all impressed, he told her he'd deal with her later.

"_I grow tired of the Universe, Doctor," _the Face of Boe continued. _"But you have taught me to look at it anew."_

"There are legends, you know," the Doctor started, joining Eliza on the floor, remembering his conversation with Novice Hame. "People say that you're millions of years old."

"_That would be impossible," _the Face of Boe replied, laughing quietly.

"Wouldn't it just?" the Doctor agreed. "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

The Face of Boe nodded. _"A great secret."_

"So the legend says."

"_It can wait."_ He replied.

Clearly disappointed, the Doctor complained, "Does it have to?"

"_We shall meet again, Doctor, Riva, for the third and last time, and the truth shall be told." _the Face of Boe said in finality. _"Until that day," _he began to glow a rich blue, fading away until he had transported from the hospital.

"That is enigmatic," the Doctor said, fairly impressed. "That is text book enigmatic…" Remembering that he and Eliza weren't alone, he sighed. "And now for you," he turned to Cassandra.

"But everything's happy now," Cassandra protested. "Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"

"You've lived long enough," the Doctor replied sternly. "Leave that body, and end it, Cassandra."

Her eyes filling with tears, she raised a hand to her mouth. "I don't want to die… Help me!"

"I can't." The Doctor said.

Cassandra looked at Eliza for help. "Don't even think about," Eliza spat. "I've got so many secrets running around in my head, your mind would explode."

A few moments later, Chip came flying into the room. "Mistress!" he called excitedly.

The Doctor looked back at Eliza. _"See?"_

Eliza shrugged. _"Wolf was a dog. This guy's part human, there's difference. Once he grows a fluffy tail and start talking to me through Telepathy, then I'll say there's a similarity."_

"I kept myself safe, for you, Mistress," Chip greeted happily.

Cassandra looked at Chip intently, muttering, "A body… and not just that, a willing volunteer," she smiled at him.

"Don't you dare!" the Doctor exclaimed. "He's got a life of his own."

"I worship the Mistress!" Chip defended. "I welcome her."

At the statement, Cassandra left Rose's body, falling into Chip's, who stumbled back.

At the sudden movement, Rose fell foreword with a gasp, the Doctor lunging foreword and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. "You alright?"

"Yeah…" she mumbled. After gathering her bearings, she found herself staring right at the Doctor. "Hello!" she greeted.

"Oh, sweet lord," Cassandra sung. "I'm a walking doodle," she held up Chip's arms, showing the tattoos.

"You can't stay in there, Cassandra," the Doctor reasoned. "I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

"Well, that would be rather dramatic," Cassandra mused. "Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat," she laughed. "But I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip, he's only a half life. He's been through so much… His heart is racing so… it's failing… I don't think he's going to last-" Chip's legs gave way, sending the body to the floor. Before Cassandra could kiss the concrete, the Doctor and Rose caught her, gently setting her to the floor.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm fine," Cassandra insisted calmly. "But… I'm dying… but that's fine." she added in an accepting tone.

"I can take you to the city," the Doctor repeated. "Eliza can help you until we get there."

"No, you won', and no, she can't." Cassandra replied. "For one, everything's new on this planet; there's no place for Chip and me anymore."

"And like she said, Chip's a half life," Eliza started. "It wouldn't help if he had three minds in his head."

Cassandra nodded. "You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good."

Sighing, the Doctor helped Cassandra up, him and Rose steadying her as she walked.

The Doctor walked Cassandra to the TARDIS, noticing the white room flash a TARDIS blue as they walked. Turning, he saw that Eliza was nowhere to be found. Grunting, he continued helping Cassandra into the TARDIS, making sure that the next time he saw Eliza, he was going to get some answers out of her.


	5. Answered Questions Part 1

_**Answered Questions**_

After they dropped Cassandra off at the party, the Doctor had set coordinates to the Time Vortex, insisting they were going to stay there until Rose got a full night sleep. He was a Time Lord, and even he was a bit drowsed from all the mind compression. Reluctantly, she bid him a good-night, then wondered off to her room, leaving the Doctor alone with his thoughts.

At first, he'd walked around the TARDIS Console, adjusting bits and pieces that probably would have been better left alone, but he didn't mind if it kept him occupied.

_She __**kissed **__me… _was one of the Doctor's regular thoughts, and even at the small, three worded thought, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Sure, it hadn't of been Rose at the time, but he didn't know that. Thinking back to the kiss, his smiled broadened when he felt his hearts sped up, his hands got a little clammy and he thought how happy- shocked- but happy he'd been. Rose may have been Human, but she was _his _Human. His little pink and yellow Human.

_Human… _the Doctor thought sadly, his smile fading. _She's Human, for Rassilon's sake… You're a __**Time Lord**__… She'll die and fade away before the next century has gone…_

"_Then what are you waiting for?" _replied a voice; Eliza's voice. Growling, he turned to see her in the jump seat, a serious expression on her face, her arms crossed across her chest. "I mean, like I told you before, you're just wasting time."

"And like I told you before, I have nothing to offer her," he replied. "We are completely different species, Eliza. Sooner or later, she'll get tired of all the travelling, she'll want more. She'll want to leave. If she and I were to…" he trailed off. "I'd just be holding her back."

"Okay," Eliza huffed, taking her arms away from her chest. "Look at it this way. Do you ever get tired of travelling?"

"I have been known to," the Doctor shrugged.

"Yeah, when you're having a bad day," Eliza replied impatiently. "You've been at it for nearly a Millennia, and you're still loving it."

"I feel like were having the same conversation," the Doctor spat. "It was a no then, and a no now."

Sighing, Eliza shrugged. "Fine, but you should know that you're disappointing her."

The Doctor frowned at her, not understanding her meaning.

"She likes you, numb-nuts," Eliza said hurriedly. "A little more than 'like', actually."

"And how would you know this?" The Doctor replied sceptically.

"I was in her head, if you don't remember," Eliza replied again, lifting her feet to rest them on the Console. "And don't even bother pulling that," She made her voice a little lower, attempting to imitate his voice. "'Eliza, you can't do that, that's not fair. I'm a pretty boy- blah, blah bollocks', I know you inside and out," she put on a playful smile. "And besides, you seemed to enjoy that little lip lock."

"It took me by surprise, is all!" The Doctor defended, a blush rising to his cheeks.

"Yeah, and I just 'happened' to bump into you at the hospital." Eliza scoffed. "Seriously, Gramps, you should know by now you can't hide anything from me. You're just scared that once she's gone, that's that. You'll be lonely again-"

"I don't want to have to go through that pain again, Eliza!" the Doctor bellowed at her, taking three strides towards her so he was directly in front of her. This was meant to intimidate her, however, she didn't even blink. "I went through hell when the War ended. My people, Eliza! They burned! What if something were to happen to her? I already have the guilt of Gallifrey on my shoulders, I wouldn't be able to take it if her life was added to the mix," he took a few steps back, leaning on the Console as his shoulders slumped.

Silence passed them, a very awkward one. Eliza stared at her feet for most of the time, the other time scratching her hand or her neck. "And you reckon I don't get that?" she asked finally. "But if that's the case, if she was going to die at your hands, what is she still doing here? Why not drop her off at the Estate?"

"Because…" the Doctor stuttered. In truth, he couldn't think of a good reason, a good enough lie to make her believe him.

"What's it going to take for you to admit you love her?" Eliza continued. "We know it, why not say it? It's what she wants to hear, and you know it. You're just using Gallifrey as an excuse," Eliza shook her head in disgrace. "You're a coward." Slowly, he bowed his head, giving a brief nod. Eliza smiled softly. _That'll do it…_

"What are you doing here, Eliza?" the Doctor asked, looking back up to meet her eyes. "I'm sure you're not here just to play match-maker," he added weakly.

"I needed a chat," Eliza shrugged.

"So why'd you come here?" the Doctor asked. "Of all the places, you come here."

"It's my second home," Eliza replied, jumping off the seat. "I'm hungry. Kitchen?"

The Doctor watched her get up and gave her an even stare. Slowly, he put his weight back on his two legs and followed her, quietly passing Rose's room as they went. When they came into the kitchen, Eliza walked to the kettle, flicking it on. She leaned on the kitchen unit as the Doctor sat on one of the stools. Knowing that the Doctor would only decline, she poured herself a cup of tea and sat down, taking some of the chocolate digestives from the cupboard, throwing a banana to the Doctor.

Nodding in appreciation, he peeled the banana. "How are your parents?" he asked after taking a bite.

"They're good," Eliza mumbled. She took a quick sip of the steaming tea, putting it down to cool. "Happy to have me back." Even though it's what she wanted, going home, she didn't seem all that happy now that it'd happened.

"And the bad news?" the Doctor urged.

"We just…" Eliza attempted, but then sighed. "We had a bit of a disagreement, is all. Me and my step dad, really." Taking in the Doctor 'encouraging face' she continued, "Technically, I have five parents. I've got, again, technically, three biological parents, a step mum and a step dad. I was raised by my mum and my step dad. Not too long ago, I found my real dad," she gave a weak smile.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" the Doctor asked, confused at her negativity. When they were on the TARDIS a lot of the time, he could practically hear her thinking about her parents, wishing that she could be back with them, back to her real home.

Eliza shook her head. "He doesn't know who I am. Not yet, anyway," she took her gloves off, placing her now bare hands around her mug. "That's what the disagreement was about. I'm tempted to tell him everything, but there are some things that haven't happened yet; things that have to happen. If I told him who I was now, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Can't you just go to after, whatever it is, happens?" the Doctor asked, more in concern now as he watched the tears rise to Eliza's eyes.

Again, she shook her head. "He… uh… he says it's difficult to look at me," she cleared her throat. "He says it kills him to look at me." Against her will, a lone tear spread from her eye to her cheek. "Do you know how much that hurts, Gramps? To have my own father turn to me and say he can't look at me because it puts him in agony?"

Staying silent, the Doctor watched as the lone tear was joined by more, a small puddle forming on the table. This was very surprising for him, he'd hardly ever seen Eliza cry. It made him angry. She was such a strong character, and for someone to do this to her…

"Why does he say that?" he asked softly.

"Says I remind him too much of mum," Eliza chocked. "I don't really get it, I don't look much like her. The only time I can actually even talk to him is when I wasn't born, that's the only time I can speak to him without him looking at me like I'm about to cut him in half."

"You don't need him," the Doctor spat. "He doesn't deserve to call you his daughter. You have the people who raised you, you don't need him, Eliza."

Eliza chuckled lightly, leaning over and taking a strip on kitchen roll, dapping it to her face. She muttered something under her breath, then added, "I do. I'm an impossible thing, Gramps." The Doctor frowned at her, then she replied, "Let's just say my dad isn't… compatible." _With my mother... _she added silently so he wouldn't hear her.

The Doctor formed an 'o' with his mouth, understanding her intention. "But, no offence to your mother or anything, but wouldn't that tell you that she… you know…"

Eliza laughed at this. "No, I can assure you, she didn't," she shook her head. "My dad sort of… died just after conception, she was a bit too… depressed to go round sleeping with everyone else."

"But-" the Doctor stammered. "I thought you said that when he looks at you-"

"I know," Eliza replied hastily. "I know, it's all reeeally complicated. I'm still trying to work out a lot of it myself."

The Doctor nodded. "So, who are your parents?"

Eliza smiled softly. "I can't really tell you. I can say that you know my mum, my dad and my other biological parent. You've yet to meet my step parents."

"Oh, c'mon," He begged, smirking. "I like secrets."

Eliza shook her head again, finishing her tea. "What is it you do, anyways?" he added.

"Protector of the Universe," Eliza said, quoting Novice Hame. "Weeelll, I say 'Protector'. It's more like I'm the Universe's bitch. I gotta do what I'm told, like it or hate it," she looked down at her empty mug, fingering the rim. "Anyway, I have to go. I'm violating my rights," she got off the stool and stretched, making her knee's click.

"Actually, before you go," the Doctor started, joining her. "Why is Rose Telepathic? I took that power away from her."

"You took the Bad Wolf away from her," Eliza corrected. "Thing about Gods and Goddesses is that you can't just take them away like that," she clicked her now covered hands. "They leave a mark on you. For Rose, it's the Telepathy."

The Doctor chuckled at her statement. "What?" she asked.

"'Gods and Goddesses'?" the Doctor repeated. "Being as you told me before that you were born with the Cub, you're saying you were born a Goddess?"

Eliza frowned, looking down at the ground, her 'thinking face' on. "I never thought of it like that…" she mumbled. "I suppose you could say that, yeah. 'Riva, the almighty Goddess of Time and Space'." she mused. "I like it, got a nice ring to it."

The Doctor gave a mocking bow. "Until next time, almighty Goddess." It was strange saying those words. In the letter he'd received when he first found her on the ship, the person who wrote it said she was an important part of the Universe, but he never actually thought she'd be _saving_ it.

"See ya, Gramps." Eliza chuckled, walking towards the kitchen doors, stopping a few meters away. "And about Rose..." she started. "I seriously don't know what you're doing. You're wasting valuable time every second you're not with her. An old friend once told me that you never know what you have until it's gone," she looked up at him and ended, "You and I both know she'll die sooner or later, and I promise you, you'll regret not doing anything once that time comes." Putting two fingers on her forehead in a sign of a lazy solute, she turned once again, strutting out the door, a blue light eliminating the corridor as she disappeared.


	6. Tooth and Claw Part 1

_**Tooth and Claw Part 1**_

Rose defiantly hadn't expected this. What she'd hoped for was a calm day on Earth, 1979, and then followed later that night with a concert to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads. BUT! As always, she was let down, only to be perked back up again.

"STOP!" Rose yelled as she and the Doctor were spinning through the Time Vortex. She felt the whole room stiffen, the sudden stillness causing her and the Doctor to fall to the floor, laughing manically.

"1979!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly. "Hell of a year!" he got up off of the grating and helped Rose up off the floor. Walking towards the door, he stopped by one of the TARDIS corals, his long, brown coat hanging off of it. "China invades Vietnam- The Muppet Movie! I love that film!" he put on his coat, smoothing out the creases as he walked down the ramp. "Margaret Thatcher," he made a face and a disapproving noise. "Skylab falls to Earth… with a little help from me," he added sheepishly. "Nearly took off my thumb," he opened the door and began to walk out, Rose following closely. "I like my thumb, I need my thumb, I'm very attached to…"

The Doctor looked around, seeing that he and Rose were surrounded by mounted- _armed- _men, he rose his hands. Behind the mounted men was a carriage, also guarded. "… my thumb," the Doctor finished. He looked at the men's clothing, the penny dropping in his head as he realised they were soldiers. "1879," Rose gave a low snort at his driving skills, muttering something to herself. "Same difference," he ended.

"Can you explain your presence?" asked on of the soldiers on horse back, his pistol pointed at the Doctor. He moved it to Rose. "And the nakedness of this girl?" He had a broad sort of accent, and the Doctor smiled. "Are we in Scotland?" he asked, putting on a Scottish accent, Rose looking down at her pink t-shirt and dungarees. _Naked?_

"How can you be ignorant of that?" the soldier demanded.

"Oh, I'm dazed and confused," the Doctor lied. He gestured to Rose. "I've been chasing this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right?" he asked Rose. "Ya… timorous beastie?"

Hoping to high Heaven she wouldn't laugh at him, Rose replied, in a terrible Scottish impression, "oh… aye! I've been oot and aboot."

"Don't do that," the Doctor whispered.

"Hoots, mon," Rose replied innocently.

"No," the Doctor repeated, a smirk appearing on his lips. "Don't do that."

"Would you identify yourself, Sir?" the soldier butted in.

"I'm Dr. James McCrimmon, from the… Township of Balamory," he stuttered. "I have my credentials, if I may?" he added, reaching into his pocket for his psychic paper. The soldier gave a sharp nod, the Doctor reaching into his pocket. He opened the paper, showing the blank page to the men. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Dr. Bell himself." The soldier eyed the Doctor for a long while, suspicion and untrusting flooding his face.

"Let them approach," called a small voice from the carriage.

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am," the soldier replied, his eyes trained on the two.

"Let them approach," the voice insisted, more firmly this time. The soldier continued to eye the Doctor, lowering his pistol slowly. "You will approach the carriage," he told the Doctor and Rose. "And show all due difference," he ended. The Doctor gave an 'aye, aye, Captain' gesture, walking slowly to the carriage, smiling when he saw who was inside.

Inside the carriage was a small, petite looking woman. She wore a snowy white hat upon her head, her hair tucked neatly in it, the rest of her clothing was black. The Doctor smiled at her, and then turned to Rose. "May I introduce to you, her Majesty, Queen Victoria," the Doctor told Rose. "Empress of India, and Defender of the Faith,"

Upon finding she was in the presence of Royalty, Rose greeted, "Rose Tyler, ma'am," she gave a small curtsey. "And my apologize for being so naked," she added with a small giggle.

The Queen dismissed it. "I've had five daughters," she told Rose. "It's nothing to me," she turned her attention to the Doctor, who was still smiling fondly. "But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials." The Doctor gave her the Psychic Paper and waited. She gave a shocked, but pleasantly surprised expression, and handed the Paper back to him. "Why didn't you say so immediately?" the Queen asked. "It states clearly that you've been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

"Does it?" the Doctor asked as he studied the Paper. Where she saw the statement, he saw his own. _"Have a nice day, Gramps x" _The Doctor's smile broadened as he added, "Good, good," he pocketed the Paper, then turned his attention back to the Queen. "Then, may I ask, why is your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train running from Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line," she answered calmly.

"An accident?" the Doctor asked doubtfully.

The Queen smiled. "I am the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned," she told them.

"An assassination attempt?" he asked again, more confidently this time.

"Seriously?" Rose asked. "There's people out to kill ya?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," the Queen informed them. The soldier that had the Doctor and Rose at gunpoint a few moments ago walked the horse towards them. "Sir Robert MacLiesh lives but ten miles hence," he reported. "We'll send word ahead, he'll shelter is for tonight, and we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

The Queen nodded. She looked back at the two new additions to her party. "This Doctor and his… 'timorous beastie' will come with us," the Doctor gave Rose a cheeky smile as the soldier replied, "Yes, ma'am, but we'd better get moving, it's almost nightfall."

"Indeed," the Queen agreed. "There are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales, intended to scare the children, but good for the blood, I think," she looked to the driver, the footman closing the door. "Drive on," she commanded, the horses going into a walk quickly.

The Doctor and Rose walked behind the carriage, surrounding them were the soldiers as they walked. "It's funny, though," Rose started as they walked. "When you think 'assassination', you think of Kennedy and stuff, not her."

"1879…" the Doctor thought. "She's had about… six attempts on her life?" he guessed. "And I'll tell you something else: we just met Queen Victoria!"

"I know," Rose replied giddily, hitting his arms in excitement. "She was jus' sittin' there! I want her to say 'we are not amused'," she told him, putting on an upper-class, posh accent. "I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Well, if I gamble on that, it would be an abuse on my privileges of traveller in time," the Doctor sighed. Taking the hint of a higher offer, Rose replied, "Ten quid?"

"Done," the Doctor chuckled.

* * *

They arrived at a large Estate called Torchwood House, the carriage stopping around the front. As the walked closer to the house, he got the strangest feeling he was being watched. Looking around, finding nothing too out of the ordinary, he shook off the feeling. After they'd walked into the house, after the Doctor noting the strange behaviour of Sir Robert and Rose having a crack at trying to persuade the Queen to say those four magic little words, they entered a small Observatory, a large telescope pointing out of a window and to the sky. "This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," the Queen stated.

"All my fathers work," Robert nodded. He gestured the telescope. "Built by hand in his final years. Became somewhat of an obsession. He spent money on this rather than caring for the House or himself."

"I wish I'd met him, I like him," the Doctor smiled fondly at the telescope. "That thing is beautiful, can I…" he walked towards the telescope, looking back at Robert.

"Help yourself," he replied as the Doctor looked around the item. "I know nothing about it, to be honest. A lot of people thought him as… shall we say, eccentric," Robert added lightly. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him, listened to his stories,"

The Doctor continued to examine the telescope, peering through it. "It's a bit rubbish," he told Robert, Rose smiling at his rudeness. "How many prisms has it got?" Not waiting for Robert to reply, he continued, "Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's stupid kind of-" he walked to Rose, and said quietly to her, "Am I being rude again?"

"Yup," Rose nodded.

"But it's pretty," the Doctor tried to recover quickly. "Very pretty,"

"And the imagination of it should be applauded," Queen Victoria added.

"I thought you might disapprove, your Majesty," Rose said. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?" the Queen stared at Rose, her expression un-changing. "You could easily… not be amused, or something… no?"

The Queen continued to stare at the strange girl for a few long moments before ignoring her and changing the subject. "This device is the infinite work of God," the Queen told them as the Doctor shook his head at his companion, a vague smile on his face. "What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in Astronomy and Sciences, yet equally inversed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars _and _magic?" the Doctor quipped. "I like him more and more."

The Queen gave him a smile as she looked back at the telescope. "Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she said happily. Taking a few steps to Rose, she added, "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

Knowing she wouldn't know what the Queen meant, the Doctor whispered in her ear, "That's Bavaria."

The Queen turned to Robert. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," the Doctor frowned slightly. "So, what's this wolf, then?" he asked.

Robert shrugged uncomfortably. "It's just a story,"

"Then tell it," the Doctor urged.

Robert paled, craned his head to look back at the servants behind him, but quickly brought his head back to look at the Doctor. One of the servants, the tallest, called, "Excuse me, sir, perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark,"

Robert looked back at the man uncomfortably, then gave a tight smile. "Of course!"

"And then supper," the Queen added. "Could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness."

"Not amusing, is it?" Rose attempted pointedly. The Queen gave her a look, and then turned back to Robert, leaving Rose to poke the Doctor in the chest as he whispered for her to stop in her ear.

* * *

Not an hour later, the Doctor, Queen Victoria and company were sat around the dinner table. One of the servants approached the Doctor and gave a small bow. "Your company begs an apology, Sir. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"Oh, that's alright," the Doctor brushed off, however slightly concerned as Rose never really had that much trouble with finding what to wear But, it _was _1879... "Save her a wee bit o' ham."

"The feral child could probably eat it raw," Queen Victoria commented. The Doctor felt a pang at the back of his mind, a small pang of anger at the Queen's comment. Yes, the Doctor was… annoyed at her statement, but not angry. It made the Doctor think, yet again, he wasn't alone, and he had a fair idea of who it was this time.

The Captain laughed manically, and replied to her, "Very wise, ma'am! Very witty!"

"Slightly witty, perhaps," the Queen nodded. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get_ too_ excited. I shall contain my wit, in case I do you further injury."

The Captain looked at her meekly, replying, "Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

"_Better?" _the Doctor asked Eliza, who he was certain was watching.

"_A bit…" _Eliza replied sheepishly. _"How'd you know I was here?"_

"_You need to take better care of guarding your emotions, young Apprentice," _the Doctor joked.

"_Of course, Master," _Eliza replied, the Doctor swearing he could just see her bow mockingly. _"Please tell me I don't get whippings due to my lack of concentration?"_

The Doctor smiled. _"I'll let you off this time," _He replied mentally. He then looked about him and saw the crowd of three watched him suspiciously at he smiled at nothing. Blushing the tiniest amount, he coughed, "Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert! Come, Sir! Tell us a tale of nightmares," he ended spookily.

"Indeed," the Queen nodded. "Since my husband's death, I find I have a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him," the Doctor said solemnly. Giving him a tight smile, she replied, "Very much," she looked phased out, too deep in her own thoughts. "Oh, completely. And that's a charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but some hope of contact of the Great Beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent," the Queen gave a small shrug. "and we must wait," she looked down at the table for a few moments before looking over to her host, Sir Robert. "Come," she continued. "In your tales, Sir Robert, there's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eves. Tell us of monsters!" she demanded excitedly, eager to hear his fairytale.

Robert nodded, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, the Doctor noticed. He cleared his throat and began. "The story goes back three hundred years. Every full-moon, the howling rings through the valley. Next morning, livestock has been found, ripped apart; devoured."

The Captain scoffed. "Tales like this are the perfect disguise for thieves," he told them. "Steal the sheep, blame a wolf. Simple as that."

"Sometimes a child goes missing," Robert protested. "Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."

"Are there descriptions of the creature?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, yes," Robert nodded. "Drawings and woodcarvings, and it's not merely a wolf, it's more than that," the Doctor edged him on as Robert began to stumble over his words, eager to hear the rest of this tale. "This is a man who _becomes _an animal."

The Doctor frowned for a second before remembering mythical beasts of that transformation. He gave an intrigued smile, leaning foreword in his seat. "A werewolf?" he asked.

Robert nodded as he sighed shakily. "My father didn't treat it as a story," he informed them. "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the creature to discover its purpose. I should have listened," he looked back at the servant behind him, who was walking towards the window, looking up at the moon; the beautiful full-moon that was passing ever so slowly over their heads. "His work was hindered," Robert continued, his words more quicker and desperate now. "He made enemies. There's a Monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine, the brethren opposed my father's investigations-"

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly?" the Queen suggested.

"That's what I thought, "Robert nodded as he replied. "But I wonder, what if there was a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet?" he looked over his shoulder at the servant, who was chanting something as he watched what ever was happening outside. "What if they turned from God, and worshiped the Wolf?" Robert looked back at the Queen's new Protector, his eyes telling the Doctor that he wasn't telling just a story. Looking behind him to the servant, who was still chanting something in Latin as he looked down at the ground below them. Understanding the message Robert was trying to deliver, the Doctor replied, "And what if they were with us right now?"

The room had turned to chaos. The servant was still chanting, the Queen standing up, as well as the Captain as he took out his gun. "Explain yourself!" he demanded Robert.

Robert shook his head, looking at the Queen. "I'm sorry, your Majesty, they've got my wife," he croaked.

The Doctor frowned as he stood. Sir Robert's wife was meant to be away from the house. Rose was meant to be in her room picking out something to wear; he was told this by the servant himself. While listening to Robert's 'story', he'd lost track of the time. Rose was a woman; it's in a woman biology to take ages picking out something to where, but not _this_ long. Through his concern, the Doctor dropped his accent as he approached the servant. "Where's Rose?!" he demanded. The servant continued speaking in Latin, the Doctor repeated, "Where is she?!" The servant continued to ignore his, causing the Doctor the brush a hand through his hair in frustration.

"_Gramps!" _Eliza called. _"Follow my directions- out of this room and take a right!"_

"Sir Robert!" the Doctor exclaimed as he began to run. "With me!" Robert and the Doctor continued to follow Eliza's instruction, the Doctor speeding around each corner. Bumping into the girl herself, she helped him off the ground when he lost his balance, continued to run. "Nearly there!" she told them.

As they neared a room, they could just hear screams from the other side, the sound of chains accompanying said screams. Upon hearing Rose plea to calm down, the Doctor sped up, quickly overtaking Eliza as he kicked down the door, the young girl stopping as he pushed through the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose demanded as she pulled off the chains that restrained her, as well as the other prisoners. The Doctor took two steps foreword before a loud growl caught his attention. He craned his neck to see a large wolf, being squished by the small space of the cage that imprisoned it. "Oh, that is beautiful…" the Doctor muttered, his eyes wide and full of awe as the wolf took hold of one of the cage bars and pulled, desperate to escape its tiny prison, while everyone else was rushing out of the room. When the wolf was starting to separate the cage merely from trying to stand up, it was then the Doctor was reminded not all beautiful things are peaceful. Ushering the remaining people out of the room, making sure he was the last to leave, he shut the door behind him, Sonicing the door shut.

"You seriously think that's gonna stop it?" Eliza scoffed as they ran back through the hallway.

They found Rose soon after, the Doctor using his Sonic Screwdriver to unlock her hand cuffs as the two women shared quick greetings. "It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," the Doctor spoke hurriedly when Rose told him the thing inside the man wasn't from Earth. "Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the Throne- you name it," Rose replied once he'd gotten the hand cuffs off. Before any of them could even think, there was a loud thumping sound, coming from the hallway. The Doctor cautiously walked back towards the room, stopping when he was the magnificent beast staring at him, its teeth bared. Awe was quickly replaced with fear as he ran back into the room with the rest of the people, grabbing Rose's hand and running behind a row of men, armed with guns aimed at the Wolf. The men fired, many of the bullets hitting the beast, making it scamper back through the hallway.

"All right, you men," the Doctor yelled as the smoke from the gun powder filled the air. "we should retreat upstairs, come with me."

One of the men turned to him, gun tightly fisted in his hands. "I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assult."

"_The Human Race, huh?" _Eliza commented, mentally sighing. _"'Pride and Honour' and all that."_

The Doctor nodded, anger at the man rising. "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir, that I will sleep well tonight knowing that thing's hide is on my wall!" the man replied. He turned towards the hallway, checking for the Wolf. Smiling in satisfaction, the man walked back, strutting with glee. "It must have crawled away to d-" Before he could finish his sentence, a large, hairy arm reached down, grabbing the man and pulling him to the ceiling, the sound of bones being snapped following quickly.

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor told rest of the men, who were watching, transfixed as the Wolf finished its snack, coming down for the main course. He ushered Rose out of the room, Eliza following them quickly. They soon found Robert heading the same way, taking the front of the three.

"Your Majesty!" Robert called as he burst into a room.

"Sir Robert!" the Queen replied, coming down a set of stairs. "What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

The Doctor dashed off towards one of the doors. "We have to get out of here," Robert told the Queen. "But what of Father Angolo? Is he still here?"

The Queen looked uncomfortable for a few moments, gripping her handbag tighter. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him."

The Doctor came back quickly, stopping next to Eliza. "Pardon me, your Majesty- you'll have to leg it out of a window."

The Queen, chin held high for the act she was about to take part in, walked passed the Doctor, into the room he'd just been in. She walked towards the window, reaching out for the latch. "Excuse my manners, ma'am, but I shall go first. The better to assist her Majesty's egress."

The Queen gave a tight smile. "A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Isn't the time for formalities, your Majesty," Eliza piped. Robert looked at her in a shameful way as she added, "Well, go on, hurry up!"

Taking hold of the latch, Robert swung the window open, revealing in the distance many men, garbed in orange, holding guns. When the window opened, the men aimed at the movement and fired, just missing Robert. The Doctor crawled to take a closer look at the men, taking in the large necklaces they wore around their necks and much of their upper torso. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Do they even know who I am?" the Queen hissed.

"Yeah, that's why they want you," Rose replied. The Queen looked at her in confusion, Rose adding, "The Wolf's lined you up for a biting."

At the word wolf, the Queen frowned. "Now, stop this talk," she chastised. "There can't be an actual Wolf." To answer her question, there was a loud howl coming from one of the previous rooms, making all of the party jump in surprise.

"What do we do?" Rose panicked as a sound of wood splitting echoed through the room.

"We run," the Doctor replied.

"Is that it?!" Rose demanded.

"You got any silver bullets?" the Doctor replied in frustration. Eliza looked down at the ground, a blank expression drawn on her face.

"Not on me, no!" Rose replied sarcastically.

"Well, there we are then," the Doctor said bitterly. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog," he began jogging up and down on the spot, demonstrating what he meant to the Queen. Soon, they were bolting up as never ending flight of stairs, the sound of the door breaking in half causing them to run even faster. The chase was halted when the wolf came face to face with the Captains gun, the Captain pressing the trigger once the Doctor was behind him. The Wolf staggered back just around the corner, recovering for another assault.

"I'll take this position and hold it," the Captain told them. "You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went looking for the property, it was taken the chest was empty!"

The Queen shook her head. "I have it, it's safe," she panted, gesturing her handbag.

"Then remove yourself, ma'am," the Captain ordered. "Doctor, you're positioned as her Majesty's Protector. And Sir Robert," the Captain cocked his gun. "you are a traitor to the Crown."

The Doctor shook his head as Robert paled. "Bullets can stop it!"

"They'll buy you some time," the Captain replied. "Now, run!" He got into a sturdy position as he raised his gun back towards the corridor the Wolf had retreated behind. The Queen and Robert were the first the run into an opened door room, the other three following them, the sound of bullets ringing their ears. The Doctor and Eliza ran into the room, Rose, paralyzed as she watched the Wolf take hold of the Captain, beginning its small midnight snack. "Rose!" the Doctor called, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into the room, holding her shaking frame in his arms as Eliza and Robert barricaded the door with anything they could find. When the door was well and truly blocked, the Doctor let go of Rose in time for the Wolf to howl. "Wait a minute…" he whispered, hushing everyone. He pressed his ear to the door, listening as the Wolf stomped to the other side of it, sniffing intently. Once he heard the wolf begin to walk away, he gave a sigh of relief. "It's gone…"

"Don't be too sure," Eliza muttered, listening as the Wolf walked to walls of the hallways, sniffing at any entrances it thought it could penetrate. A few moment of pure silence, Rose asked shakily, "What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room," the Doctor replied, walking around. "What is it? Why can't he get in?" he asked himself.

"I'll tell you what, thought," Rose said to him. He turned to her, a smile breaking on her face. "Werewolf!"

"I know!" the Doctor smiled, walking towards her and taking her up in his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked into her hair.

"I'm okay, yeah," Rose replied, taking a breath, slipping from his embrace. The two shared a quiet moment, the Doctor nearly forgetting what had just happened, Eliza just watching with a small smile plastered on her face.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty," Robert said quietly from a chair. "It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Weeeelll," the Doctor started, picking up the facts. "They were bald, athletic, your wife's away, I just thought you were happy."

Rose smiled at his small joke, looking at the Queen. "I'll tell you what though, ma'am, I bet you're not amused now." Watching as Eliza, behind the Queen, placed her hand over her eyes in embarrassment, she soon realized that was not the most perfect thing to say.

The Queen stared at her for a few second, her outrage gauge getting bigger every second. "Do you think this funny?" she said harshly. "What, exactly, I pray someone, please, what was that creature?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his head. "You'd call it a werewolf," he replied to her. "but technically, it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"And should I trust you, sir?" the Queen turned on him. "You, who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

The Doctor, finding she was indeed correct, continued to scratch his head as Eliza snickered at him. "Oh… right, sorry-"  
"I will not have it!" the Queen exclaimed. "No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it!" she took a shaky breath before ending, "This is not my world."

There was a long silence after, the Queen announcing she was to sit down, retreating to the other end of the room.


	7. Tooth and Claw Part 2

_**Tooth and Claw Part 2**_

The Doctor- being the Doctor- walked around the room, checking the walls and the doors for anything that could tell him why the Wolf was refusing to come in. Reaching the other end of the room, his fingers came in contact with a lump in the woodwork, a lump that turned out to be a carving of Mistletoe. "Sir Robert, did your father put this there?" he asked, gesturing the carving.

Robert looked at the carving, shrugging in response. "I suppose."

The Doctor looked up from Robert, finding another one. "It's on the other door, too," he mumbled. "But a carving, it wouldn't be enough," he eyed the dark wood, then leaned up, dragging his tongue across the dark material. Tasting the flavour, he added, "Viscum album, oil of the Mistletoe, it's been worked into the wood like a varnish!" he got back down and turned to Robert. "How clever was your dad? I love him! Powerful stuff, Mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the Wolf's allergic to it?" Rose questioned, hope evident in her voice.

"Well, it _thinks _it is," he corrected. "The monkey monk boys need a way of controlling the Wolf, maybe they trained it to react to certain things."

"Nevertheless, Doctor, that creature wont give up," Robert shook his head. "And we still down possess an actual weapon."

Giving Robert a distasteful look, he replied bitterly, "Oh, your father got all the brains didn't he?"

"Being rude again," Rose informed him.

"Good, I meant that one," the Doctor replied as he walked towards a bookshelf, next to that one was another bookshelf. "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! Best weapons in the World!" he slipped a pair of glasses out of his pocket, putting them on. "Probably the greatest arsenal we could have," he muttered to himself, he took a couple of books from the shelf, throwing one to each of the people in the room. "Arm yourself."

* * *

Ten minutes into researching, the Doctor flipped through a book, setting it down on a table. "Look what your dad found," he said to Robert. "Something fell to Earth."

"A shooting star," Robert said in wonder as he read the passage. "'In the year of our Lord, 1540, under reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit'. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine, just by the Monastery."

"But that was over three hundred years ago," Rose said. "What's it been waiting for?"

"Maybe just a single cell survived," the Doctor guessed. "Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans."

"But why does it want the Throne?" Robert asked.

"That's what it wanted," Rose replied. "He said it wanted… 'The Empire of the Wolf', or something like tha'."

The Doctor nodded. "Imagine it, the Victorian Age accelerated, star ships and missiles fuelled by coal and steam, leaving history devastated in its wake."

"Sir Robert!" the Queen called. He hurried to her side as she started to talk. "If I am to die here, I would rather destroy myself, rather than let that creature infect me. But no matter, I ask that you find somewhere of safekeeping for something far more older, and more precious than myself," she reached into her handbag, searching for something. Retreating her hand, she pulled out a diamond, just small enough to fit in her unclasped hand.

"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose wondered, taking a few steps foreword to inspect the item.

"Figures you'd know that," Eliza joked quietly.

"The greatest diamond in the world," the Doctor mused.

"Given to me as the spoils of war," the Queen explained. "Perhaps its legend is coming true. It is said that whoever owns this diamond will surely die."

The Doctor gave a considering face. "Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough," he extended his hand towards the diamond. "Can I?"

Hesitantly, almost reluctantly, the Queen handed the precious item to the Doctor, uncomfortable that it wasn't in her possession. "That is so beautiful…" the Doctor muttered as he examined it, Rose dragging a finger at the rim as Eliza watched from a distance. "How much is that worth?" Rose asked.

"They say, the wages of an entire planet, for a whole week," the Doctor replied.

"Good thing my mum aint here," Rose joked. "She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win," the Doctor added, trying to imagine Jackie taking down the barrier in seconds and charging full speed at the Wolf. "Why'd you travel with it?" he asked the Queen as Robert walked away.

"My annual pilgrimage," she replied. "I'm taking it to Halier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."

"But it's perfect," Rose moaned, not wanting to bump the price of the Jewell.

"My late husband never thought so," the Queen replied sadly.

"Now there's a fact," the Doctor stated, taking off his brainy specs. "Prince Albert kept on having the Kor-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty per cent bigger than this," he gestured the diamond. "But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

The Queen nodded. "He always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished." She gave a loud sigh, and looked back up to see the Doctor staring at her intently. "Unfinished…" he muttered. He looked back down at the diamond, carelessly tossing it to the Queen. "Oh, yes! There's a lot of unfinished business in this house," he pointed to Robert. "His father's research," he pointed back to her. "Your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond! Hold on…" he ruffled his head in concentration, coming to one, big, massive conclusion. "All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head! What if this house- it's a trap for you, isn't that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously," the Queen replied sarcastically.

Ignoring her tone, he continued, "At least that's what the Wolf intended, but, what if there was a trap inside the trap?"

The Queen frowned, but nevertheless growing more hopeful as the seconds wore by. "Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if Sir Robert's father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories?" he said. "They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap, not for you… but for the Wolf." Before anyone could consider his theory, his very, extremely possible theory, there was a low thumping, coming from the ceiling, bits of dust and cement falling down in front of them. Daring himself to look up, the Doctor raised his head, watching as the large Wolf was walking along the glass dome, looking down at them and giving them a snarl. Under the new weight, the glass began to crack, giving the people underneath the sign they needed to run, taking down chairs and other heavy items that were blocking their way out. The glass dome broke, letting the great beast fall to the ground as the Doctor shut the door tightly, not even bothering to Sonic the door shut. "We have to get to the Observatory!" he called to the four in front of him.

They rounded a corner, taking care to get out of the way of Robert's wife, who was stood with a large bucket of water, Mistletoe leaves floating on the top. As the Wolf rounded the corner, she threw the bucket of water towards the creature, making it howl as the water burned at it's skin and coat.

"Good shot!" the Doctor congratulated. He jogged down the hallway, the others close behind him. Running up the staircase, they found their way into the Observatory, the Doctor looking around frantically. "Is there anyways of barricading the door, we need time! If we could just bind them together with rope, or something."

"I'll find you time, Sir," Robert told them as he walked out of the room. He looked back at the Doctor, who seemed very reluctant to let him go. "Get inside," Robert ordered.

The Doctor gave him a tight smile. "Good man," he said. Giving Robert a sharp nod, he closed the doors.

"Hang on," Eliza muttered. Looking at the door and down at her hands, she added, "I can't believe this…" Un-strapping the sword scabbard on her back, she winced at the unfamiliar, uncomfortable weight. She handed the items to Rose, hissing, "If I so much as see a scratch on this when I get back, we're having words," she went to open the door, the Doctor chasing after her. "Eliza- no!-"

She slammed the door in his face, calling through the wood, "It won't be enough time, just get to work, hurry up!" Fiddling with the handle, the Doctor found somehow she'd locked it. He banged his hand on the door, gritting his teeth, and then turning away from the door and towards the Queen as Rose laid Eliza's things on the ground. "Your Majesty, the diamond," he held out his hand, waiting for it to be filled.

"For what purpose?" the Queen demanded.

"The purpose it was designed for," the Doctor replied hurriedly. Slowly, the Queen handed over the diamond, watching as the Doctor sped around the observatory. He rushed himself and Rose to a giant cog, placing both hands on it and pulling.

"It's not the right time for stargazing," Rose told him, pushing the cog up, the large telescope moving, readjusting.

"Yes, it is!" the Doctor struggled. A few moments of silence and struggling, the three in the observatory heard Robert talk from outside. "How did you..?" he was stopped by a thumping, coming closer and closer to the room. "I committed treason for you. And now, my wife will remember me with honour!" They heard a sword swipe, presumably something Robert had taken from one of the walls. It was quickly followed by the sound of bones being ripped apart, the smell of blood becoming evident. Then there was a bark. A high pitched bark, which could never had come from the Wolf. The Doctor noticed there were two sets of growling, one coming from the wolf, the other from the unknown source, although, he had a small idea from where it was coming from. There was a high pitched yelp, followed by a deeper one.

"I thought you said this thing doesn't work?" Rose asked as they continued adjusting the telescope.

The Doctor shook his head. "It doesn't work as a telescope, because that's not what it is," he explained. "It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up."

"But there's no electricity!" Rose exclaimed.

The Doctor gave her a sour look, grunting in reply as he continued turning the cog, looking up at the cog, hoping this would be enough of an answer.

"The moonlight," Rose replied, working out his meaning. "But it needs moonlight, it's made by moonlight!"

"You're seventy per cent water," the Doctor told her. "You can still drown, c'mon!" There were another few yelps coming from the corridor, and then total silence, followed by a continuous banging on the door, made by the Wolf.

Worrying what had happened later, the Doctor watched as the moon shone through the light chamber, magnifying the light so there was a white spot shining on the floor. The door flew open, revealing the Wolf, covered in blood, patched of its fur missing, three of its claws gone, and a gapping hole in its ear, one of its eyes squeezed shut. Just as the Wolf was about to use the only strength it had left to smite down the Queen, the Doctor threw the diamond on the ground and into the light, causing the diamond to reflect the white spot of the ground to the Wolf, stopping it dead in its tracks. The Wolf lifted off the floor, engulfed in the white light of the moon. The body of the Wolf was soon forgotten, its image being replaced by that of a man, not a single cut or bruise on his body. "Make it brighter," the man commanded. "Let me go."

The Doctor walked back to the cog, giving it one final push. The light became stronger, one final howl from the Wolf emerging from the mans lips as he disappeared from sight. From the corridor, there was another howl, a high pitched one. The Doctor gave a sigh of relief, knowing that nothing had happened to their aid. He peeked through the remains of the door to see a large wolf checking itself over, it's TARDIS blue eyes scanning it's body. This one was not as damaged as the other, but still had a few cuts visible.

Noticing the Queen hadn't moved from her spot, the Doctor looked as she stared at her hand, a long red cut going down her wrist. "Your Majesty?" he asked, receiving no reply. "Did it bite you?"

The Queen shook her head. "It's a cut," she answered, not entirely confident. "It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."

The Doctor reached foreword, wasn't really that shocked when she smacked his hand away. "It is nothing," she insisted. The Queen took the Kol-I-Noor from the floor, and walked back through the hallway, trying to ignore the remains of Sir Robert as she passed. The Doctor and Rose began to follow, Rose carrying Eliza things, the girl herself leaning on a wall, a long, wet and red scratch running down from the left side on her forehead to her neck, numerous other injuries coursing over her face and hands. She nodded in greeting, grimacing as she did. "I can't walk," she told them. "Give me a hand?" she asked the Doctor.

Taking one of her arms and holding it around his shoulder, he helped her limp down the hallway, Rose not too far behind.

"_That was reckless," _the Doctor scolded.

"_Quit your bitching," _Eliza grumbled. _"It got you time, didn't it? And I'm not dead, so I can't see a problem." _

Sighing, the Doctor found an empty room, four beds unmade inside. Concluding that this was the servants quarters, the Doctor hobbled Eliza over to one of them, asking Rose to get some water and anything they could used for a towel, while helping to strip Eliza from her coat.

Placing the weapons near the bed, Rose hurried out of the room in search of one of the servants.

The two remaining sat in silence for a few moments, the Doctor checking the scratches on the young girls arms, face and legs. "You have quite a few bite marks, I've noticed," the Doctor commented.

"I won't get infected," Eliza replied as she placed one of her hands on a wound on her right leg, the tiniest bit of steam emerging as she retreated her paws, to see the wound was nothing but a memory. Going to other parts of her body, she continued,"I changed back before the venom had a chance to take effect. It wouldn't of worked anyway. It's just the transformation is... tiring."

"How did you do that?" the Doctor demanded. "Change your shape, become an animal?"

Eliza gave a cheeky smile. "I'm an Animagus," she teased.

"An Animagus?" the Doctor replied, blinking as if he hadn't heard right. "As in… Harry Potter Animagus?"

Despite the pain, Eliza laughed and nodded. "I liked book three. I think it was very appropriate for what happened today," she looked down at one of the larger gaping wounds on her leg, getting to work. "But in all seriousness, what you saw… well, it was the Cub."

"I thought you were the Cub?" the Doctor asked.

"I am," Eliza sighed. "Weeelll, sort of. It's a part of me, but it has its own form. Like the Bad Wolf, it had a form of its own, it just never showed itself, its physical form."

"It didn't look much like a cub or a puppy to me," the Doctor grumbled as he checked her over with the Sonic Screwdriver.

Eliza chuckled. "It was stuck inside the TARDIS Console for a year, what did you expect it to do? Wait for time to pass? When the Cub was in contact with the Bad Wolf, it grew, learned more from the TARDIS. That's why I can travel the way I do. Well, that's partly the reason."

The Doctor gave a small nod, concentrating on what he was doing. Once he was satisfied everything was fine, a thought slipped his mind. He eyed her, then muttered, "Why've you been following us?" Eliza frowned, and the Doctor continued. "Nearly every place Rose and I have been to, so far, you've been there."

"Not all the time," Eliza protested.

"All the times we've been in trouble," he pressed. "What're you doing? Why are you following us?"

Eliza paled as she scratched her hair. She knew he'd find out sooner or later. It was kinda her fault anyway, she didn't bother to cover it up, hide so they wouldn't see her. "I can't tell you why…" she muttered under her breath. "Not yet, anyway."

Just then, Rose walked into the room with a young woman called Flora. She held a bucket of water, a cloth under her arm.

"Actually," Eliza started, getting off the bed, stumbling a little as she leaned down for her stuff. "I think I'd better go. Got things to do, places to go," she looked at the Doctor. "people to follow." Eliza walked to Rose, giving her a farewell hug. "Be seeing ya," she walked out of the room and down the hall, a blue light flashing through the corridor.

* * *

The next day, the Doctor and Rose were summoned by Queen Victoria, as well as Robert's widow, Lady Isobel and her staff.

The Doctor and Rose stepped foreword and kneeled before the Queen, who held a sword in her hand. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State," she taped him on both shoulders with the sword gently. "I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS." He glanced at Rose, who was beaming at him.

The Queen stood in front of Rose and did the same gesture with the sword. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee, Dame Rose of Powell Estate," she looked at the two evenly. "You may stand."

"Many thanks, Ma'am," the Doctor said, still beaming as they rose.

"Thanks," Rose added, also smiling. "They're never gonna believe this back home."

"Your Majesty, you said last night, about receiving a message from the Great Beyond… I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave."

The Queen gave a tight smile. "Indeed," she agreed. "Then you may think on this also: that I am _not _amused," she looked at Rose as she muttered 'Yes!', giving the Doctor a look that said 'Pay up'. "Not remotely amused. And henceforth…I banish you."

Both the Doctor and Rose looked absolutely stunned at the news. The Doctor thought they were the only people in history to be Knighted and banished within the same day- heck, the same five minutes, less than that.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked in confusion.

"I have rewarded you, Doctor," the Queen told him. "And now, you are exiled from this Empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you are from, but I know that you consort with stars, and magic, and think it fun. Your world is stepped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it! You will leave these shores, and reflect, I hope, on what has led you astray, and how long you can survive this… terrible life." She gave them both a glare, backing away, showing that the Knighting Process was finished, and their Exile had started. "Now, leave my world," she demanded, giving them a stern look as she passed through the door.

* * *

It didn't take as long to get back as it took to get to the Torchwood House, the big, blue police box still there to greet them. The Doctor and Rose jumped off the wagon they'd pitched a lift in, the Doctor saying good bye and thanks as they walked to the TARDIS. "You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria actually did suffer a mutation of the blood," he told Rose once the driver was out of ear shot. "It's historical record haemophiliac, they used to call it the Royal Disease, but it was always a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It can from nowhere!"

Rose frowned and looked back to the Torchwood Estate. "What, are you sayin' that's a wolf bite?"

"Weeelll, maybe haemophiliac is just a Victorian euphemism," the Doctor replied.

"For werewolf?" Rose asked intently.

"Could be," he shrugged.

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"

"Could be," the Doctor repeated as they continued to walk. "And her children have the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."

"So the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose asked doubtfully.

"Weeelll," the Doctor repeated again. "Not _yet_. I mean, a single wolf cell would take about… a hundred years to mature," he guessed. "Would be ready for about… ohhhhh...early twenty first century?"

Rose laughed, nudging him as they walked. "Nah, that's just ridiculous!" she gave a pause, her smile brightening. "Mind you… Princess Anne…"

"I'll say no more," the Doctor chuckled.

"No, but if you think about it," Rose said as her ideas began to make sense, all connecting in one way or another. "They're _very_ private… they plan everything in advance, they could schedule themselves around the moon, we'll never know! And they like hunting! They _love _blood sports!" the pair of them laughed as the Doctor opened the TARDIS, walking up the ramp. Rose placed both of her hands on her head before shoving them in the air in triumph. "Oh, my God, they're werewolves!" The Doctor laughed with her as he pressed a few buttons that would send them into the Time Vortex, Rose herself beginning to howl, the Doctor joining her as they began to spin throughout time and space, the two forgetting about their banishment already.


	8. The Girl in the Fireplace Part 1

**_The Girl in the Fireplace Part 1_**

**_A.N: The things I do... in all honesty, even though I ship the Doc. and Rose, unlike many other D/R shippers who want to murder Moffat for this one, I really don't mind this Episode… in fact, I've got to say it's one of my favourites. Not because of the romance between the new character and the Doctor, but because the story's good, the soundtrack is beautiful and the badies used to scare the shit outta me. I didn't really want to change anything between the Doctor and Reinette (even though I don't support it), but I thought people would be expecting a change, so… enjoy._**

_What a day… _the Doctor thought as he wondered through the TARDIS halls, passing the previous bedroom of one Sarah-Jane Smith. The Doctor smiled as he though back on their small reunion. He was happy she was still doing her small investigations, helping in any way she can. Although, her meeting with his newest female companion could have gone a lot better.

"_The missus and the ex," _Mickey had whistled. _"Welcome to every man's worst nightmare." _And didn't he mean it. First of all, it set off an uncomfortable phase with Rose, making her think he'd just dump her off somewhere like he did with Sarah-Jane, followed by an awkward conversation between the two. He'd _nearly _said it… he wanted too, but he couldn't.

"_I don't age," _the Doctor told her brokenly. _"I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither, and you die. Imagine that happening to someone who you-" _he bit his tongue, not allowing that four lettered… forbidden word to pass his teeth.

He knew Rose was jealous of Sarah-Jane, and the cruel fact is, he did next to nothing about it. The Doctor supposed he did it to, maybe, stop Rose from having these feelings for him, which he knew she had. In a way, he felt guilty for using Sarah-Jane like that, but he didn't want the same thing that happened to her to happen to Rose. That plan went out the window when he found Rose and Sarah-Jane laughing together about who knows what. For some unknown reason, the sight of him made the two to laugh even more, sending him into a deep phase of paranoia.

"_I waited for you," _Sarah-Jane had told him. _"I missed you," _ending it off with a, _"You were my life."_

More than ever now, he wished his annoying, old nuisance was around. She was patronising sometimes, but she was someone you could talk too. Surprisingly, she hadn't turned up like she'd said she would. The Doctor remembered looking over his shoulder, expecting to see Eliza chasing after him. He could feel her there, but she didn't appear.

After they'd returned to the TARDIS, Mickey had requested that he come with the Doctor and Rose, Rose not looking too happy about it. After spinning into the Time Vortex, she went straight to bed, Mickey doing the same not too long later.

The next morning seemed a lot lighter. The two had bounded out of their rooms, pestering the Doctor on where they where going to go on Mickey's first trip.

"It's a space ship!" Mickey exclaimed as they stepped out of the TARDIS. "Brilliant! I got a space ship on my first go!"

Rose took in her surroundings, noticing the extreme lack of crew. "Looks kind of abandoned," she said. "Anyone on board?" she asked the Doctor.

"Nah," the Doctor replied. "Nothing here. Weelll, nothing dangerous. Weelll, not that dangerous," he looked around the room, nodding his head sharply. "You know what, I think I'll just have a quick scan… in case there's anything dangerous," he walked over to a Control Panel, tinkering with the many different buttons, hoping to make something happen, bad or good.

Rose smirked as she joined him. "So, how far have we gone?"

"About… three thousand years into your future, give or take," he replied, pulling a lever, lighting up the whole room, opening up the ceiling to reveal a deep space, stars scattering across the black void. "Fifty first century. Diagmar Cluster! You're a long way from home, Mickey! About two and a half Galaxies!"

Mickey walked over to whole of the ship's small portholes, watching in awe at everything outside. Rose joined him, the Doctor rummaging on and in the Control Panel as they spoke. "Dear me, they had some cowboys in here," the Doctor muttered. "Got a ton of repair work going on." The Doctor chucked a piece of metal on the Panel, glancing at one of the monitors. "Now that's interesting… all the warp engines are going… full capacity? There's enough power in this ship to punch a hole in the Universe, but we're not moving. So where's all that power going?"

"And where'd all the crew go?" Rose added, walking back with Mickey, who was reluctant to leave the porthole.

"Good question," the Doctor replied. "No life reading on board."

"Well, we're in deep space, they didn't just nip out for a quick fag," Rose stated.

"Nope," the Doctor agreed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Checked all the smoking pods." Rose rolled her eyes at the reply, a smirk tugging at the side of her mouth. She frowned, taking a few deep breathes in. "Someone's cooking," she commented, the smell of meat filling her sinuses.

"Sunday Roast," Mickey added. "Defiantly."

The Doctor flicked a switch on the Panel, a door, well, wall, sliding open behind them, revealing a magnificent fireplace, roaring with the dancing colours of red, yellow and orange, a clock sitting comfortably on top of the mantle. "Well, there's something you don't see in your average space ship," the Doctor mumbled. "Eighteenth century… French, nice mantle," he observed, taking his Sonic Screwdriver out and scanning the fireplace. "It's not a hologram, in fact, it's not even a reproduction, this actually is an eighteenth century fireplace," the Doctor bent down to have a better view at the wall- or the other side. "Double-sided, there's another room through there!"

"But it can't be," Rose denied, looking out through another porthole. "That's the outer side of the ship, look!" She moved for the Doctor to have some room, surprised when he started talking. "Hello!" he greeted.

"Hello…" a tiny voice greeted in reply. The Doctor smiled at the small, pretty, blonde girl, who was staring back at him with a confused expression. "What's you name?" the Doctor asked politely.

"Reinette," the girl replied, her confusion growing when two more people joined the strange man in her fire place.

"Reinette," the Doctor repeated. "That's a lovely name! Could you tell me where you are, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom," she answered hesitantly.

The Doctor gave a tight smile, giving a small laugh. "And where is your bedroom?" he asked more specifically. "Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course!" Reinette replied, wondering if the Doctor was playing a joke.

"Paris," the Doctor nodded, as if remembering where he was and what he was doing.

"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" the young girl asked seriously.

"Oh, it's just a… routine… fire check," the Doctor stumbled. "Could you tell me what year it is?"

The girl smiled. "Of course I can! Seventeen hundred and twenty seven."

The Doctor chuckled. "Lovely, one of my favourites! August is rubbish, though… stay indoors," he suggested. "Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help! Hope you enjoy the rest of your fire, nah-night!"

Reinette watched the Doctor in confusion as he got back on his feet, nevertheless saying, "Good night, Monsieur."

Rose and Mickey joined him a few seconds later, the young man looking very un-amused. "You said this was the fifty first century," he said accusingly.

"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the Universe," the Doctor replied. He looked to the fireplace. "And I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temperal hyperlink."

"What's that?"

"Don't know," the Doctor replied honesty. "Just made it up. I didn't want to say magic door."

Rose gave the Doctor a look, then asked, "So on the other side of this… _magic door_… is France seventeen twenty seven?"

"Well, she was speaking French," the Doctor wondered. "Right period French, too."

Mickey shook his head in denial and replied, "She was speaking English, I heard her."

Rose draped an arm over Mickey's shoulder as the Doctor took his coat off, striding back towards the fireplace. "That's the TARDIS," Rose supplied. "Translates it for ya."

"Even French?" Mickey asked in awe. Rose nodded as the Doctor inspected the fireplace, running his hands across the mantle. He felt something out of place, almost like a lever. He smiled, grabbing hold of it. "Gotcha!" He yanked it firmly, sending the fireplace into a rotation. Once the fireplace had finished turning, the Doctor found himself in a dark, shadowy room, little Reinette sleeping in a large bed. He looked around the room, listening to the loud clockwork ticking in the background. The Doctor looked out of a window to see the Paris Skyline, the sky shedding millions and millions of little snow flakes, all falling to the ground. There was a horse neigh from outside, quickly followed by a gasp behind him, the quick sound of ruffling quilts telling the Doctor the little girl behind him was stirring. The Doctor turned to see Reinette, wide awake and staring at him. "It's okay!" he hurried to stop her from screaming. "It's me, fireplace man!" he took out his sonic screwdriver and walked towards an unlit candle, using his devide to give it a flame. Reinette gave him a shocked look, turning her from him to the candle, repeating this motion many times. "We were talking, just a moment ago. I was in your fireplace."

"Monsieur, that was weeks ago!" Reinette exclaimed. "That was months!" The Doctor gave her a confused look, scratching his head. He quickly changed it to surprise, asking, "Really?" he went back to the fireplace, knocking it and listened to the sound. "Loose connection," the Doctor sighed. He turned back to Reinette, giving her a smile. "You need to get a man in."

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here?"

The Doctor didn't give her a reply as he looked at the clock on the mantle. A broken clock, the ticking still making a noise in the background, but more prominent now. "Okay, that's scary," the Doctor muttered.

"You're scared of a broken clock?" Reinette asked sceptically.

"Just a little bit, yeah," the Doctor admitted as the ticking continued. "Just a little, tiny bit, 'coz you see, if this clock's broken," he craned his neck, looking about the dark room. "and it's the only clock in the room, then what's that?" Reinette, after finding he was correct, acquired a look of fright. "'coz you see, that's not a clock," he continued. "You can tell by the resonance. Too big, six feet, I'd say... the size of a man."

"What is it?" Reinette quivered as the Doctor checked behind the curtains, glad to say nothing was there. "Now, let's think," he told the girl, hopefully to calm her. "If you were a thing that ticks, first thing you do is break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to think you're not alone," he quickly strode to the bed, giving the young girl instruction to stay still. Leaning under the bed, he took out his sonic screwdriver, and began to scan the darkness. Before he could even finish, something swiped at him, scurrying away before the Doctor could get a proper look. Emerging from under the bed, looking behind Reinette to see someone- or something- standing right behind her, wearing typical aristocratic French dress, complete with creepy clown mask. "Reinette," the Doctor whispered to the girl. "Don't look round. You stay where you are." the Doctor looked at the figure, then back at Reinette. They had to be in her room for something... "Hold on... let me see," the Doctor ordered, placing two hands of Reinette's face so he could look around. "You've been scanning her brain!" he accused. "You crossed two galaxies and one thousand years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the Universe?"

"I don't understand..." Reinette said quietly. "It wants me?" she looked back at the figure, asking the same question. The figure replied, moving its head towards her in a robotic fashion. "Not yet, you are incomplete."

"Incomplete?" the Doctor questioned. "What does that mean, 'incomplete'?" The figure stayed silent, its empty eye sockets still seeming to rest on the little girl in front of it. "You can answer her, you can answer me," the Doctor spoke again. "What do you mean 'incomplete'?" he rose his Sonic Screwdriver so it was right in front of the figures face, which grabbed its attention. The figure looked quickly at the Doctor, moving around the bed and walking towards it, sticking its arm foreword once the Doctor was within reach, a razor sharp knife, no way from the seventeen hundreds, sprung from its sleeve.

"Monsieur, be careful!" Reinette warned, gripping her covers close to her face.

"Just a nightmare, Reinette," the Doctor comforted. "Don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares," the Doctor added as he lunged backward, missing the swipes the figure was making. "Even the monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, Monster?" The Doctor had made his way back to the mantle, side stepping as the 'Monster' threw another swing, catching its knife on the wooden material. The Doctor felt for the lever down by the fireplace again as Reinette asked, "What do monsters have nightmares about?"

"Me!" the Doctor exclaimed as he gripped the lever, tugging it sharply, feeling the rotation of the fireplace once again as Reinette disappeared from view, Rose and Mickey taking her place as the Monster kept tugging to free its hand. He quickly ran over to one of the walls, taking down one of the gun-like objects and using it to spray the figure, a white, freezing substance surrounding it. The figure stopped struggling to free its hand, freezing to a stop.

"Excellent, ice gun!" Mickey said happily. Throwing the 'gun' to Rose, the Doctor corrected, "Fire extinguisher."

"What'd that thing come from?" Rose asked as she inspected both the figure and the extinguisher.

"Here," the Doctor replied. "Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol- nice needle work... shame about the face," the Doctor continued as he walked towards the figure, pulling off the mask, and there for face, revealing an ornate clockwork mechanism, covered in clear plastic, which shaped the head. The Doctor gave a giddy noise, followed by, "You are _beautiful_! No, really, you are! You're _gorgeous_! Look at that," he exclaimed to Rose and Mickey, who had stepped foreword in curiosity. "Space age clockwork, I love it! I've got chills!" Coming back to a serious tone, he began talking to the droid again. ""Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart- and by the way, count those- it would be... a crime, an act of vandalism to disassemble you," he smiled again, them took up his Sonic again. "But that won't stop me." Realising playing dead wasn't going to work, the droid allowed its ticking to continued, and hit something on its arm, causing a small, blue sliver, the droid disappeared from view.

"Short range teleport, cant have gotten far," the Doctor explained as he walked back to the fireplace. "Don't go looking for it, i'll be back in a sec," he ended as he tugged on the lever again, rotating with the fireplace.

_Strange... _the Doctor thought as he re-entered the room. When he left, the room had been dark, it was night-time and the suite had obviously belong to a child. Now, however, he was standing in a room that was full of light, it was a sunny day outside, and the room looked like it belonged to a young woman. "Reinette?" he called. "Just checking to see if you're okay." Receiving no reply, he walked away from the fireplace and near a large harp, idly brushing his fingertips across the strings. There was a noise behind as the notes vanished. The Doctor turned to see a young, beautiful woman looking at him a small smile on her face. "Hello," he greeted kindly. "I'm looking for Reinette- this is still her room, isn't? I've been away, not sure how long."

The woman continued to smile as she walked to the foot of the long bed, a woman's voice calling from the hallway, "Reinette! We're ready to go!"

The woman standing in front of the Doctor replied, "Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there!" A small hint of realisation washed over the Doctor's face as he figured out who this woman was, a smile tugging on his lips. "It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend during one's childhood," Reinette teased. "You should be congratulated for your persistence."

The Doctor smile broadened as he scratched his ear. "Reinette," he greeted again. "Goodness, how you've grown."

"And yet you have not appeared to age a single day," she countered, walking towards him. "That is tremendously impolite of you."

"Right, yes... sorry," the Doctor stumbled. "Listen, lovely to catch up, but you'd better be going, eh? Don't want your mother finding you in here with a strange man, do we?" he joked. He needed to get back to the ship. Undoubtedly, Rose and Mickey had ignored his pleas and gone in search of the droids, much to his displeasure.

"But how could you be a stranger to me?" Reinette questioned. "I've known you since I was seven years old."

The Doctor frowned at her claim, then cocked his head as he considered it. "Yeah, I suppose you have..." he agreed. He chuckled and added, "I came the quick route." Taking note she wasn't smiling, and how close they were, he jolted slightly when she placed her hand on his cheek, feeling the skin with her fingers. "Well, you seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate, but this is absurd." she scolded. "Reason tells me you cant be real."

_That explains it all, _the Doctor thought. He shook his head. "You never want to listen to reason."

"Mademoiselle!" called another voice, a male's this time, probably a servant. "Your mother grows impatient!"

"A moment!" Reinette hissed, clearly annoyed. She turned back to the Doctor and gave him another smile. "So many questions, so little time," she told him. Quickly, she placed one hand on the back of the Doctor's neck, the other on the lapels of his jacket, and pulled him down, pulling him to her lips where she moved passionately. The Doctor was surprised, to say the least. When he registered what was happening, he walked back, trying to take his lips away from hers, but she followed him, pressing him up to the mantle and kissing him harder. Gulping, he placed one hand on her shoulder, pushing her back gently. She gave him a small, hurt look, then she turned on heel and ran out of the room, grabbing her bag as she went.

"Madame Poisson!" the servant called again, this time walking into the room. He took in the Doctor confusing image, as the Doctor himself looking into space. "Poisson?" he asked, completely forgetting what had just happened. "Reinette Poisson?" The servant continued to stare at him as realisation kicked in. "No... no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Reinette Poisson?" he asked again, this time running up to the servant. "Reinette Poisson? Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France?" The servant continued to give him a bemused look as the Doctor walked back to the fireplace. "Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan?" he added, forgetting the most important thing. "_Fantastic _gardener!" he stood so he was near the fireplace, leaning down the lever as he laughed.

"Who the hell are you?!" the servant demanded when he finally registered what was happening.

"I'm the Doctor!" he chuckled. "And I just met Madame de Pompadour!" he tugged on the lever, laughing manically as he rotated, reminding himself very much of one of those villains in the films that sit in revolving chairs while stroking cats.

When the fireplace stopped, he found that his suspicions were correct. Rose and Mickey had disappeared. "Rose?" he called. When the silence replied to him, he cursed. "Every time!" he muttered as he began to walk. "All the time! Rule one: don't wonder off! I tell them, I do, rule one! There could be anything on this ship!" he ended, sighing in irony when he was met face to face with a snowy white horse.

_You just love proving me right, don't you? _he thought to the Universe. He walked passed the horse, falling into the wall as it nudged him with its nose. "Do you mind?" he asked the horse, who turned around and was now facing the Doctor again. The Doctor turned and continued walked, surprised when the sound of hooves followed him. "Rose!" he called, walking from corridor to corridor, the horse still as his heels. It nudged him again, and the Doctor turned around. He rose a hand to stop it from doing it again, the horse neighing as its ear flew up in surprise. "Will you stop following me?" the Doctor asked. "I'm not your mother." The Doctor looked over to see another door, a light peering through the slightly ajar panels. "So this is where you came from, ey, horsey?" He opened the door to find he was walking out some sort of shed, which was sitting in the back of a massive courtyard. He walked by a wall, a stone urn sitting on one of the edges.

The Doctor looked around the courtyard, noticing two women walking through it, grimacing slightly at one of them, who was Reinette. "Oh, Catherine, you're too wicked!" Reinette exclaimed as she laughed, walking arm in arm with her friend. The Doctor his behind the wall from behind seen as Reinette turned her head quickly.

"Speaking of wicked," Catherine spoke. "I hear Madame de Chateneux is ill, and close to death."

"Yes," Reinette replied sarcastically. "I am devastated," she and Catherine looked at each other, laughing instantly. "Oh, indeed," Catherine agreed. "I myself am completely inconsolable. The king will therefor be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?"

Reinette nodded. "He is the King, and I love him with all my heart," Reinette replied, then added cheekily, "and I look foreword to meeting him." Catherine laughed at the comment, Reinette insisting on the fact she was being watched as she spun round to the hidden Doctor again, who hadn't moved from his spot. "Is something wrong, my dear?"

"Not wrong, no," Reinette replied uncertainly, but continued walking nonetheless.

"Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions," Catherine told her.

"Every woman in Paris shares them," Reinette countered.

"You do know that the King is to attend the Yew Tree Ball?" Catherine asked, the Doctor unable to hear Reinette's reply as they walked away. _All these doorways, the little hidden passageways from the ship to eighteenth century France, they are all connected to her... but WHY? _the Doctor thought as he scratch his hair, walking back to the shed to see the horse there, waiting for him. _What could this one woman have that these droids couldn't get anywhere else?_

_**A.N: Arghh! Decision making, I hate it! And since it's not one of my favourite things, i'm letting you guys decide. Do you want the ending of this Ep. to be fluffy (Doc/Rose) or angsty? Seriously, I need to know, this ones been bugging like hell *grits teeth***_


	9. The Girl in the Fireplace Part 2

**_The Girl in the Fireplace Part 2_**

Eventually, he found Rose and Mickey looking through a window at three men who had just strode into a room, the King being one of them, the other two presumably his servants. "Oh, man look at this guy," Mickey said in disgust. "Who does he think he is?"

"King of France," the Doctor answered, walking up behind them.

""Oh, look, here comes trouble," Rose greeted fondly, making the Doctor feel a little guilty when she gave a tongue in the teeth smile. Why should he be guilty, anyway? It's not like they were... "What've you been up to?" she added.

Decided on the spot not to tell her anything, the Doctor replied, "Oh, this and that," he replied casually as he shifted uncomfortably. "Became the imaginary friend of future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man," there was a neigh from begin, the horse, which the Doctor had named Arthur, stood behind them. "Oh, and I met a horse."

"What's a horse doing on a space ship?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey, what's pre-revolutionary France doing on a space ship?" the Doctor replied sarcastically. "Get a little perspective, please." the Doctor looked through the window at the King, who was now alone for the moment. "See these?" he gestured to the window. "They're all over the place. On every deck, gateways to history, and not just any history," he stopped at Reinette walked into the room, giving the King a curtsy. "Hers. Time windows, deliberately arranged to follow the life of one particular woman. A fifty first century space ship stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

"Who is she?" Rose asked as she began talking to the King.

"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson," the Doctor replied in a French accent. "Known to her friends as Reinette, and one of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So she's got plans for being the Queen then?" Rose guessed.

"Nah, he's already got a Queen," the Doctor replied as Reinette circled the King playfully. "She's got plans for being his Mistress."

"Ah, I get it," Rose chuckled as Mickey glanced at her. "Camilla," she added, making Mickey laugh.

The Doctor watched as the King left the room. "I think this is the night they met; the night of the Yew Tree Ball. In no time flat, she'll get her herself established as his official Mistress, get her own rooms at the Palace, even get her own title; Madame de Pompadour." He stopped as Reinette walked to the window and checked herself over, showing the three on the other side she was looking into a mirror. "The Queen must have loved her..." Rose muttered sarcastically.

"Oh, she did," the Doctor replied to her. Rose gave him a confused look and he shrugged. "They get on very well."

"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey asked sceptically.

"It's France, Mickey," the Doctor replied. "Completely different planet." He looked around the room Reinette was in, quickly taking notice of the broken clock on the mantle. Reinette quickly turned around to face someone in the background, who was looking out the window. She said something, which was unrecognisable due to the glass. She said something again, the figure turning around to show one of the droids from her childhood bedroom. Taking the fire-extinguisher from Mickey's hands, he tugged on a lever near the wall, sending the three of them into the room. "Hello, Reinette, hasn't time flown?" he greeted as he passed the young woman.

"Fireplace man!" Reinette replied in surprise. Walking up to the droid, he sprayed the robot in foam, quickly disabling it for a few moments. He chucked the extinguisher back to Mickey as the droid made a rusty sound. "What's it doin'?" Mickey asked.

"Switching back on, melting the ice," the Doctor replied as the robot moved its head difficultly. "Then it kills everyone in the room." Showing the Doctor's point, the droid thrust its arm foreword, the Doctor backing off quickly. "Focuses the mind, doesn't it? Who are you? Identify yourself." The droid cocked its head, giving no reply. Sighing, her turned back to Reinette. "Order it to answer, will you?"  
"Why should it listen to me?" Reinette answered, her voice wavering in panic.

"I don't know, it worked when you were a child," the Doctor shrugged, standing behind her. "Go on, let's see if you still got it," he encouraged when she gave him a terrified look. Nodding, Reinette demanded, "Answer his question. Answer any and all questions out to you." Slowly, the droid lowered its arm. "I am Repair Droid Seven," it replied.

"So what happened to the ship, then?" the Doctor asked. "There was a lot of damage up there."

"Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure."

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year," the Doctor protested. "What's taken you so long?"

"We did not have the parts," the droid replied robotically.

"What's happened to the crew, where are they?" the Doctor pressed.

Again, the droid repeated, "We did not have the parts."

Sighing in frustration, the Doctor shook his head. "There should have been fifty people on your ship, where did they go?"

"We did not have the parts."

"Fifty people don't just disappear," the Doctor reasoned. "Where'd-" he stopped, realisation sinking in. "Oh..." _They didn't have the parts... but they had to use **something**..._ "You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew," he muttered, the droid not giving an answer.

Rose cleared her throat, stuttering, "We... found a camera... with an eye in it," she explained as the Doctor glances back at her. "And they was this heart, which was wired into machinery..."

The Doctor nodded as he stared at the window, through to the ship. "It's just doing what it was programed to do. Repairing the ship whatever way it can with whatever it can find. No one told them the crew weren't the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelled of?" he asked Mickey.

A few moment passed before Rose replied, "Someone cooking..."

"Flesh plus heat, barbeque," the Doctor nodded as Reinette took a few breathes. "But what re you doing here? You've opened up _time windows, _that take colossal energy. Why come here? You could have... gone to your repair yard, instead you come to eighteenth century France?"

"One more part is required," the droid replied, the rustiness not nearly as back as it was before. It cocked its head again, looking directly at Reinette. The Doctor looked confused at the young woman then back at the droid. "Then why haven't you taken it?"

"She is incomplete."

_Not this again... _the Doctor thought. "So that's the plan, then? Just keep on opening more and more Time Windows, scanning her brain, just to see if she's done yet?" the Doctor ended.

"Why her?" Rose asked. The Doctor glanced at her and she added, "Well, you've got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?"

"We are the same," the droid claimed.

"We are not the same," Reinette denied. "We are in no sense the same!" The droid repeated what it'd said, Reinette ordering, "Get out of here! Get out of here this instant!" Complying with her wishes, the droid pressed the transporter on its arm and disappeared in a blue haze. The Doctor acted quickly. "It's back on the ship, Rose, you take Mickey and Arthur and follow it, don't approach it, just watch what it does."

"Arthur?" Rose asked as she walked towards the window.

"Good name for a horse," the Doctor replied sheepishly. Rose sighed and marched Mickey foreword. "No, you're not keeping the horse!"

"I let you keep Mickey!" he battled. "Now, go, go, go!" Sighing, she and Mickey walked through the window, the Doctor closing it behind them as they greeted the animal. The Doctor walked back to Reinette, herself looking too shocked for words. "You're going to have to trust me," he started. "I need to find out what they're looking for, and there's only one way I came do that," he placed two fingers on her temples, the others keeping her head in place. "It wont hurt a bit." After a few moment, the Doctor heard her gasp as he searched. "Fireplace man... you are inside my mind..." she stated.

As the Doctor continued to look through the jumbled mess, he replied, "Oh dear, Reinette, you've had some cowboys in here..."

They stood there for a while, the Doctor spending some time getting things out of the way so he could slip through. "You are in my memories," Reinette squeaked. "You walk among them."

The Doctor nodded. "Now, if there's anything you don't want me to see, imagine a door, and close it. I wont look," he assured her. Feeling her smile beneath his fingers, he soon figured out why. "Actually, there's a door there... you might want to close..." he began blushing at the images, walking away from them, which proved impossible as she practically threw them at him as he gulped. When she stopped, she added, "To walk among the memories of another living soul... how can you resist?"

Ignoring her question, he asked, "What age are you? You're twenty three, and for some reason, that means you're not old enough." A moment later, he heard he inhale sharply, backing away slowly. "Sorry," he winced. "You might find old memories reawakening, side effect."

She gritted her teeth, replying, "Oh, such a lonely childhood..."

"It'll pass," he ushered. "Stay with me."

"Doctor... so lonely, so very, very alone..."

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked. "You've never been alone in your life-" Realising what she'd just said, he demanded, "When did you start calling me Doctor?"

She didn't reply to his question, but continued to mumbled. "Such a lonely little boy... lonely then... but less lonelier now... my lonely angel, who has an angel of his own..."

"How did you do that?" the Doctor demanded again, taking his hands away.

"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction," she told him. "But there was still so much I couldn't glance at... but _she _could... your angel, your Guardian Angel. Your second angel knows all of you, and your secrets, and yet, you are afraid of them both. Why?"

"Both of them?" the Doctor questioned. "What are you talking about? What angels?" The more she talked, the more he was interested.

"Your angels, Doctor," Reinette replied. "I've seen them. One, as fragile as a rose, healing you slowly. The other, proud and mighty as a Wolf. The Wolf knows you, and protects you and your fragile angel," Reinette smiled at him.

The Doctor's head was whirling. He had no clue on Earth how she'd managed that. But without saying anything, he simply stared at her. She'd spoken of Rose. It was true, Rose had been healing him. Ever since he was in big ears and leather, whenever he was confronted with an enemy, one of the first things he'd thought of was how to destroy it, but since she came along, his thoughts had changed to 'how can I help this creature?', and it was thanks to her. She had made him a better man, and was continuing to do so. But what of this other angel? His and Rose's protector?

In his thoughts, Reinette smile and took his hand. "Dance with me," she said gently.

"I can't," the Doctor denied as he rushed away from his thoughts. "This is the night you dace with the King."

"Then first, I shall make him jealous," she smiled cheekily at him.

"I cant," he repeated, sighing as he attempted to take his hand away.

"Doctor," the said as she tightened her grip to prevent him from going. "Doctor Who? It's more than just a secret isn't it?"

"What did you see?"

"That there comes a time, Time Lord," she teased. "When every lonely little boy must learn how to dance." she walked out of the room, taking him with her.

* * *

An hour later, he was staggering into a room, Rose and Mickey shackled to metal beds as the droids stood over them. Singing as he entered, wearing sunglasses and his tie around his head, a glass in one hand as the other held the hand of his imaginary partner. "Have you met the French?" he asked Rose, who was staring up at him in shock. "My... _God_, they know how to party!"

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in," Rose spat. "The Oncoming Storm."

"Oh, you sound just like your mother," the Doctor teased.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose demanded.  
"Weeelll, among other things, I _think _ I just invented the banana daiquiris a couple centuries early," the Doctor claimed, raising his glass. "Did you know they've never even seen a banana before?" he walked over to Rose's bed, and whispered loudly, "You must always bring a banana to a party, Rose. Banana's are good." He glanced to one of the droids, who was looking at him. "Oh, ho, brilliant! It's you!" he exclaimed drunkardly. "You are my favourite, you are the best! You know why? 'coz you're soooo... _thick! _You're Mister Thick, Thick, Thickity Thickface, from Thicktown in Thickania! And so's your dad!" He turned back to Rose and Mickey. "Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for? H... Her milometer!" he began laughing. "They wonna know how old the is, you know why?" he gestured the room they were in. "'coz this ship is thirty seven years old, and they think when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's _complete, _ then her brain will be compatible. 'coz that's what you're missing, isn't it?" he yelled as walked right in front of one of the droids and stared it mockingly in the face. "Your command circuit, your computer! You ship needs a brain, and for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do!"

"The brain is compatible," said one of the droids, who had a razor sharp knife pressed to Rose's throat.

"Compatible?" the Doctor scoffed. He climbed over Mickey, reaching the droid who talked. "If you believe that," he added, now acting as if alcohol hadn't even passed his lips. "You may also believe this was only a glass of wine," he ended. Pulling the wig off, he poured the substance of the glace into the droids clockwork head, causing the cogs to stop. Grabbing the droids hand and taking it away from Rose, he bent the droid over to it was touching the ground. "Multigrain anti-oil," he explained as he took Rose's restraints off her, giving her a smile. "If it moves, it doesn't." The droids began moving towards them, the Doctor rushing to one of the Control Panels and pulling a lever, the droids bowing over like the first. "Time we got the rest of this ship turned off," he said as he pocketed his Sonic.

"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked as Rose released him.

"Yup," the Doctor assured, switching a few buttons. "Nice and safe, safe and _thick_, the way I like them." He looked down at the Control Panel and continued, "Okay, all the Time Windows are controlled form here, I need to shut them all down," he reached inside his pocket, feeling for something. "Zues plugs, where are my Zues plugs? I had them a minute ago, I was using them a castanets."

"How come they don't just open a Time Window up to when was thirty seven?" Rose asked.

"With the amount of damage done to these circuits, they'd have been lucky enough to hit the right century," the Doctor explained. "It's all Trial and Error after that." Clicking a few buttons after that, he frowned. "The Time Windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?"

There was a pinging sound, followed by a series of ticking noises. "What's that?" Rose questioned as they watched the droids, swearing one of them had twitched.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "Incoming massage from the field?" The penny dropped, the Doctor working faster. "That's why the Time Windows aren't closing, one of them are still out there with Reinette." He leaned over to press another button, stopped by the sound of one of the droid standing up. Turning, he saw the first droid he made keel over look at him, then shot the Multigrain anti-oil over the Doctor's shoe. "Okay, I will admit, that was a bit clever." The droid rose its hand, pointing towards the lever, which attainted its previous position, letting the other droids free to move again as they stood. "Right," he started to Rose and Mickey. "Many things about this are not good." The pinging continued, the droids turning their heads towards it. "Message from one of your little friends?" he mocked. "Anything interesting?"

The droids interpreted the message, replying to the Doctor," She is complete, it begins." The droids vanished away, the Doctor rambling on. "One of them must have found the right Time Window, now it's time to send in the troops... and this time, they're bringing back her head. Rose," he pointed to a monitor, showing her a deck and an old tapestry. "This Time Window, here," he pointed to the tapestry. "That should lead you to when Reinette is thirty two. Tell her that the droids will be there sometime after her thirty seventh birthday, tell her to keep them talking. By now, they should be programmed to answer her, I have to stay here and find the Time Window, go on!" he encouraged, Rose taking one more look at the monitor and running off.

While Rose was away, he and Mickey were finding the Time Window, the Doctor telling him to go and get Rose when he found it. "They knew I was coming, they blocked it off," the Doctor said once the two had returned.

"I don't get it, how come they got in there?" Rose asked.

"They teleported- you saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick," he explained, ninety miles per hour.

"Well, we'll go in the TARDIS, then," Rose reasoned.

"We cant use the TARDIS, we're part of events now," the Doctor replied. "We cant just smash through, Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck."

"But we don't have a truck," Mickey stated.

"I KNOW WE DONT HAVE A TRUCK!" the Doctor panicked.

"But we've gotta try something," Rose interjected.

"No, if we smash the glass we smash the Time Window," the Doctor explained, practically hearing the penny drop in Rose's mind as he looked at her gravely. "There'd be no way back," he ended, his voice calmer. From behind, Arthur came into view, trotting in. "Brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, running over to the horse and mounting it, grabbing hold of the reins and leading him over back near a corridor to get to running speed.

"Doctor," Rose called. "You said there'd be no other way to get back here."

The Doctor looked at her gravely, seeing the tears in her eyes, and looked down. "She's a big part of history, she _cant _die, and I wont let her." He looked back up at Rose a final time, opening his mouth, then closing it, looking back at the Time Window. Encouraging Arthur into a gallop, he sped towards the Time Window, Mickey rushing out of the way as the Doctor broke through.

Feeling the tang on regret as he broke through the Window, he was met with a new scene. The droids had people under threat as many of them cowered together at the sight of them and the new horse which was emerging through the mirror. Three of the droids had Reinette under their control, just about to slice her head off. The Doctor gave a smile as he trotted by, Reinette returning it happily. Arthur had pranced to a stop, the Doctor jumping down. "Madame de Pompadour," he greeted. "You look younger everyday."

"What the hell is going on here?" demanded the King.

Reinette looked between the two men, stuttering to the Doctor, "Urm... this is my lover, the King of France."

The Doctor smiled, walked over and shook the mans hand. "I'm the Lord of Time," he told the King. Changing his attention to the droids, he took one of their masks off. "And I'm here to fix the clock." The droid retaliating immediately as it shoved the razor near his face. "Forget it! It's over!" the Doctor commanded. "For you and for me," he added, looking up a the broken mirror. "Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand..." The droid looked towards the mirror, tapping its transported fiercely, nothing happening. "The link with the ship is broken, no way back, and you don't have the parts. How many ticks left in that clockwork heart? A day? An hour? It's over, accept that." The droid continued to stare at him, the cogs in its plastic head still going. "I'm not winding you up," the Doctor ended. Seeing the Doctor was right, the droids found they had no place anymore, no job. They were programmed to gather parts for their ship, and now that was impossible, they couldn't do what they were programmed to do. The droid in front of the Doctor seemed to have sighed if it could of, the cogs in its head stopping, the droid doubling over of the ground, the others doing the same. "Are you alright?" the Doctor asked Reinette, holding out his hand to help her up, the others gasping the background as the droids fell to the floor.

"What's happened to them?" she replied.

"They've stopped," the Doctor shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets. "They have no purpose now." Looking around at the powerless droid, he turned on heel and walked away from the scene, Arthur following him as he took a glass of wine before he left.

* * *

The Doctor stood staring up at the billions of stars that were above him, the wine glass, still full, in his hand. He stared up at the black space, mentally kicking himself. It wasn't his fault, he _had _to leave. If Reinette had died, who knows what could have happened? History could have been rewritten, for all he knew, Rose might not have even been born.

_Rose... _the Doctor thought mournfully. Somewhere out there, she was stranded with Mickey on that God forsaken ship. Why'd he have to go there for Mickey's first trip? Any place would have been better, an erupting volcano, perhaps? The Doctor took a gulp of the wine, remembering Eliza's words. _"You never know what you've got 'till you lose it, what are you waiting for, Gramps?" _Until know, he'd told her everything he could to throw her off, to stop her from trying to make him admit those three little words out loud, but now he wished he had. Shaking his head, he admitted he wished he'd taken Eliza's advice. Rose was three thousand miles away, and it broke both his hearts that there was nothing he could have done about it.

He heard footsteps coming from behind, but didn't turn. He knew who it was. "You know all their names, don't you?" Reinette asked, looking out the window with him. "I saw that in your mind; the name of every star."

"Well, what's in a name?" the Doctor grumbled. "Names are just titles, titles don't tell you anything."

"Like 'the Doctor'?" Reinette teased, attempting a smile, but in vain. Instead, he just replied, "Like 'Madame de Pompadour'?" taking a swig of his wine, not taking his eyes off the stars.

"I have often wished to see those stars a little closer," she mused. "Just as you have, I think."

"From time to time," the Doctor nodded.

There was a brief silence, the Doctor waiting for her to talk, not wanting to be trapped in his own flooded thoughts. "In saving me, you trapped yourself here. Did you know that would happen?"

The Doctor sighed, realising he wasn't going to get his wish. "Pretty much," he replied, turning to her.

"Yet still you came," she observed, eying him.

"Yeah, I did," he agreed. "Catch me doing that again."

She smiled at him, adding, "There were many doors between my world and yours. Cant you use one of the others?"

"When the mirror broke, the shock would have severed all the links with the ship. There'll be more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I'm afraid, wherever there was a Time Window," he nodded, then looked at her quickly. "I'll... pay for any damage," he assured. "Oh... that's a thought... I'm going to need money... I was always a bit vague without money..." he turned back to Reinette and asked, "Where'd you get money?"

She gave him a sad smile. "So here you are. My angel, stuck on the slow path with me."

"Yup, the slow path," the Doctor sighed inwardly, taking another drink of his wine as he looked back up at the stars, trying to figure ways to get back. Eliza could always find him, she'd said she was following him, she could help him out, surely.

"And yet, you do not seem so happy," Reinette noted. "You are still in need of your angels."

Nodding slowly, he replied, "I'm not going anywhere, so I'm going to have to live without them."

A few moments of silence passes, Reinette muttering uncertainly, "Oh, aren't you?" She set her wine glass on the table, took the Doctors hand and walked down the corridor. They entered a room, a large, king sized bed in the middle, not too far behind it, was the fireplace from her childhood room. He smiled at the sight, walking towards it. "The fireplace," he said softly.

"It is not a copy," she informed him. "I had it moved here, and it is exact in every detail."

"When did you do this?" he asked.

"Many years ago," she replied as she joined him near it. "In hopes, that one day a door that once opened, would open again. One never knows quite when one needs one's Doctor." she explained. Looking at the fireplace closely, she continued, "It appeared undamaged. Do you think it will still work?"

"You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it, which means it was offline when the mirror broke, that's what saved it, " he explained. Looking back to the fireplace, he could feel something coming from it, some sort of energy. Energy he recognised. This practically smelt of Eliza and had her finger prints all over it. "But... if I'm right..." he muttered, placing his hand on the fireplace, smiling as the tingle in the back of his mind. She was here, Eliza had been here! He never thought he'd be so happy to know that she was still following them around, well, him anyway. Thumping the mantle in giddiness, he place himself at the lever, and said excitedly, "Wish me luck!" He tugged on the lever, spinning just in time to hear Reinette reply, "No."

His smile fading slightly, he shook his head. Of _course _she'd want him to stay. But no matter how harsh it might have seemed, he wasn't going to stay for her. But, he could give her her dream, just one time. "Madame de Pompadour!" he called through the fireplace. He saw he bend down in front of the fire, and added, "Sill wonna see those stars?"

"More than anything," she told him hopefully.

"Give me two minutes," the Doctor replied happily. "Pack a bag, go to the window and pick a star, any star." He got up and ran from the room, just in time to hear Reinette ask to someone, "Who are you?"

Saving it for a minute or two, he ran back towards the room where he'd left Rose and Mickey, the two of them still in the Control room where he'd left. "Fireplaces! Don't you just love 'em?" he greeted as he walked down the stairs, Rose and Mickey turning swiftly, smiles breaking on their faces as they did. "One thing that I must install in the TARDIS library is a fireplace!" Running foreword to meet Rose, he gathered her up in his arms, kissing her hair as he spun them around. "How long did you wait for?" he whispered to her.

"Five and a half hours," she mumbled back, her face in his chest.

"Great!" the Doctor replied, separating from her. "Always wait five and a half hours." he shook Mickey's hand happily as Rose asked, "Where've you been?"

"I'll explain later," the Doctor hurried. "Into the TARDIS, be with you in a sec." His two companions walked into the blue, now happy ship as he ran back to the fireplace, the other side no longer bright and happy, but not longer there at all. "Reinette? You there, Reinette?" he called, not hearing the echo he expected. Blowing down the fire, he saw he was met with a brick wall. He tapped it with his hand to find it was solid. Getting up and tugging on the lever, he was confused to find it didn't work. Tugging it again, he got the same conclusion. "Why aren't you working?" he tapped the mantle, the energy Eliza had placed there no longer present. Realisation flooded his face. Eliza was in the room when he'd left, she was the one who took the link away, she was the one Reinette was talking to. Confused as to why she did this so soon, he made a note to asked her about the next time he saw her, which was probably very soon. Slightly disappointed, he walked back to the TARDIS, closing the door behind to see Rose and Mickey waiting for him.

Caught up in his won thoughts, he walked up to the TARDIS silently. "Our little friend came by to visit," he told Rose. "Eliza helped me get back, opened one Time Window up for a few minutes, then shut them all down. Saves me the trouble, I suppose." Registering Rose's confused look, he continued, "She's been following us around," he explained. "Reinette called her my Guardian Angel," he gave a smile as he pressed a series of buttons, sending them into the Time Vortex.

"I'm going to bed," Mickey announced, giving a yawn. "Twenty minutes on the Playstation, then I'm makin' with the large 'z'." He bided them good-night, leaving the Doctor and Rose in silence, not an uncomfortable one. The Doctor basked in this silence, Rose's presence, just her being there. He was grateful to Eliza, eternally. The silence was eventually broken, however. "Jus' wondering, but... you knew you were gonna go through the Window and not come back the same way..." Rose started nervously. "Did you know Eliza'd help ya? Honestly?"

The Doctor gave her a long look. He quickly realised he was in one of those situations where, say your wife was pregnant, you didn't want to hurt her feelings by saying 'yes, you look like a whale', but then you also don't want to lie to her. Slowly averting his gave, he shook his head, focusing on a lever that had become very interesting all of a sudden.

Rose nodded, muttering, "Okay..." she got up off the Jump Seat and walked out of the Console Room, leaving the Doctor behind. Sighing in his stupidity, he grabbed a hammer from below the Console, hitting the TARDIS with it with as much strength as he could muster, breaking one of the buttons, which thankfully, he didn't really need. He sat down on the Jump Seat, still warm from her sitting there. What happened to wishing he'd told her? What happened to _wanting _to tell her? Kicking the Console in frustration, the TARDIS hummed softly in his mind, calming him, soothing him, as if she was giving him a brain massage. Running his hand through his hair, he got up off the Jump Seat, and walked out towards the kitchen, a gut feeling telling him she'd be there.


	10. Confrontation

_**Confrontation **_

Seeing that his suspicions were correct, he found Rose in the kitchen, an empty pack on Swiss roll in the bin, an open tin of custard on the unit, spoon at the ready as the bowl swirled in the microwave as she waited for her only comfort food to heat. Quietly, he walked up to the table and sat down, watching as she balled her fists, which was rare. A long few moments passed, the only the noise was the humming from the microwave. What if she wanted to leave? It wouldn't surprise him if she turned around and said she wanted to be dropped off at the Powell Estate, not looking back and ordering him to leave. She could play silent treatment all she wanted, but they needed to talk. "Rose-" he started, but she cut him off quickly.

"Why her?" she eyed him viciously. Taking her question the wrong way, he replied, "We'll probably never know. There was massive damage to the computer memory base. Probably got confused."

"No," Rose huffed. "I mean, why _her?_" The microwave stopped humming, a ping filling the kitchen as she turned to face him. "Why her? You chose _her _over me and Mickey... you chose her over me," she looked down as her fists, which were getting tighter, he nails digging into her palms. Feeling the tears- no. She couldn't cry now. She wouldn't. Taking a breath, she continued, "What happened to never leaving me behind? You said you'd _never _leave me. Let alone for someone else."

"I didn't leave you for her," the Doctor denied immediatly.

Rose gave a bitter laugh, giving him an icy stare. "You _knew _there'd be no way back," she hissed at him. "You knew it was a dead end, but you carried right on. You could have used the TARDIS. Programmed her to meet you somewhere or somethin'. It worked when you sent me an' Eliza back home. But that didn't even occur to you, did it? While me an' Mickey were on those metal tables, you were _dancing _with her, Doctor. Without a second thought, you went through that Window believing there'd be no way back." The more Rose talked, the angrier she got. She was hoping it would be the other way round, that she wouldn't be as angry after she'd got most of it off her chest. "Do you know how long I stood there hoping I'd seen wrong? That you'd come back through it and say everything was done and dusted? When you did come back, I was relieved. But then you go to invite her along. What happened to her being part of events?"

"I'd bring her back the same day I took her," the Doctor defended.

"Oh, like you did with me?" Rose spat sceptically. "I missed a year, Doctor. A whole year when you said I'd only be gone twelve hours. A month ago, we skipped a hundred years, and you didn't get it right in Cardiff, neither." The Doctor looked sheepishly around the kitchen, looking anywhere but at her. She didn't believe him, who would? His actions had spoken for him. No wonder she thought he was in love with Madame de Pompadour.

Leaving the bowl in the microwave, Rose sighed frustratingly, making to go through the door, stopping right by his side. "If you didn't want me, you should have told me in the first place."

As she moved for the door, the Doctor's arms snapped up, taking its place on door frame firmly, stopping her from leaving. He gave her an even stare before standing up, Rose backing off until she hit the wall. Trying to remain calm, Rose reflected his stare as he approached her. "You have _no _idea what I risked when I went through that Window, no idea what I thought I'd lost. Anything could have happened if they'd brought her back to their ship. History could have been completely re-written. That's why I went." The Doctor pressed his forehead on the wall, right next to hers. "I was miserable when it'd ended. I was there for an hour, looking up at the stars, wondering which one you were closest to… on that _stupid _ship which I'd left you on. Rose, I promise you, I'd have never done it if it weren't for a good reason. And even then, I'd find my way back to you, help from anyone or not." There was a long silence, hardly awkward, but far from comfortable. Placing his hands on the wall beside Rose's stomach, he sighed inwardly. "I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so, so sorry. It won't happen again, I promise." The Doctor shivered as her breath tickled his neck. Only then did he realise how close they were.

A few seconds later, Rose placed her forehead on his shoulder gently, quickly encircling her arms around his waist, fisting some of his coat in her hands as she held onto him tighter. The Doctor placed his head on her own shoulder, breathing in her scent as he basked in the fact that, at least for now, he was forgiven. It was like a whole load had been taking off his shoulders. Muttering his continuous apologies into her neck, giving it a kiss from time to time, she slid her hand up, resting it in his hair. They stood like this for a long while, both waiting for the other to do something. Eventually, it was Rose. Taking his hands from around her, she took one of his hands in hers as she placed a light kiss on his cheek, ignoring the abandoned microwave which held her comfort food, nice, warm and toasty from the heat.

She took him to the Media Room, telling him to sit down as she grabbed a bag of popcorn, the TARDIS warming the bag quickly. Laying down with the Doctor on the sofa, she placed the bowl just above her head, snuggling into his chest as the TV came on. Pressing play on the remote, they watched whatever film that was in the DVD player, which was a Harry Potter film.

Rose was dozing by the time the film had ended, but truthfully, she wasn't really paying that much attention to the movie anyway. The main thing she did was listen to the rhythmic beat of his duo hearts, one ear pressed against one, a hand pressed against the other.

The credits ran, the popcorn bowl empty, the two were still on the sofa, enjoying the others presence as much as they could. The Doctor didn't understand. Rose should hate his guts right now, begging him to take her home while screaming she never wanted to see him again. And yet, she was scrawled up in his arms, himself taking in the smell of her hair. He decided not to think on it too much, dreading the thought that one day that might actually happen, and instead listened to her steady breathing.

"What are we, Doctor?" Rose asked eventually, the drowsiness of sleep dripping from her voice. The Doctor didn't really know how to answer that question. He knew what he wanted to say, and knew what she wanted to hear. But to spare himself further pain for the future, he had to say the exact opposite. That they were friends. Really close friends that travelled together throughout time and space. The Doctor shook his head, and held her tighter. "We're us," he replied quietly. Pressing a kiss to her hairline, he repeated, "We're us."

Sighing happily, Rose smiled. She knew what he meant, crystal clear. Snuggling closer into his chest, she nodded, the darkness of sleep finally taking her away. The Doctor held her tighter as she slept. He didn't know what would happen next, and that terrified him. He always knew what was coming. But he was tired. Tired of rules he'd set up for himself, tired of everything. All he could really concentrate on at that time was the beautiful young woman lying asleep in his arms, her full lips parting as she exhaled…

_**A.N: Oh, God! Sorry for the long update. Been a busy few months. Even though I'm a few weeks late… the 50**__**th**__** anniversary, wow… **_

_**Now, everything that is said/written is completely my opinion. I think it wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, but defiantly not one that I'd regard even being close to one of my favourites. There were a load of issues with the special, such as freezing Gallifrey, I'll get to that in a minute. But seriously, Moffat, what was with all the kissing? Sure, now we know why Elizabeth seems to hate the Doctor in season 3, but seriously, 10 got enough of that during season 2, 3 and 4. And I was happy to see the return of Bad Wolf, but when 10 hears the name, he seems really excited for a moment, and then just lets it go. That was one of the major issues for me. He just forgets in a matter of two seconds that Rose Tyler, who was meant to be in a Parallel Universe at the time, may or may not be there (Also the word Bad Wolf meant the end of the Universe, but for some reason that didn't matter). I know a lot of people were disappointed that neither 10 nor 11 saw her, but I sort of understand why they didn't. It would probably cause the 10**__**th**__** Doctor to be really unhappy to know it wasn't actually her. I liked when the 13 Doctors made an appearance, but it was completely altering parts of previous stories, making them practically non-existent. Moffat is basically sticking his middle fingers up at previous Doctor Who writers and saying, "Fuck what you guys did, it's my show now, I'll do what I want." He's changing a few things that happened and I'm not okay with that. For example, Time Locking Gallifrey. Now, don't get me wrong, I thought that adding all 13 Doctor to the mix and freezing the planet rather than burning it was an epic idea, but again, it's altering what other people have written. Also, it makes me feel really bad for the Doctor after he believed he burnt his own planet. He became a broken war hero, went through all that grief and misery for jack shit. Although, that does bring up the question, what incarnation is Peter Capaldi (again, Moffat is fucking with what other people have written)? With John Hurt in the mix, that makes Eccleston the 10**__**th**__** Doctor, Tennant the 11**__**th**__** Doctor and Smith the 12**__**th**__**, which makes Capaldi the 13**__**th**__**… which means that Doctor Who might be ending very soon. However, Moffat did explain in an interview that he hoped Doctor Who would reach its 100**__**th**__** anniversary (sorry I keep mentioning this… **__**BUT AGAIN**__** he's completely ignoring what the brilliant master minds have written and is probably going to make his own rules up), but what do you guys think?**_

_**Rant over.**_

_**Now, if you have any angry comments towards my because of my **__**opinion**__**, then go right ahead, people have done it before and I have a feeling they'll do it again. But do remember the important key word: Opinion. This rant was in no way an effort to change anyone's mind about the Special, so please don't leave reviews or send me PMs trying to change mine. But really, what did you guys think of it?**_

_**Also, it might be a while longer before I update again. Apologies.**_


	11. The Rise of the Cybermen Part 1

_**Rise of the Cybermen Part 1**_

The morning after, surprising to both the Doctor and Rose, was hardly awkward at all. They both had woken up slowly, unwilling to ascend from their comfortable graves. The Doctor was astounded he'd gotten any sleep at all. He _never _slept, and when he did, it was once every week or two. He had blamed the pink and yellow human in his arms, whose head was in his chest, breathing in the scent of Time, Space and Banana Daiquiris.

Thinking about their angry conversation the night before, he gave a sigh. _That_, he promised, was never going to happen again. He was tired of running away. From her, in particular, and he was certain she felt the same way.

The rest of the morning past in a very hazy, fast blur. The Doctor remembered a bit about being in the kitchen, then retreating to his room to change out of custard drenched clothes, then running quickly to the Console Room. He then found himself sitting in the Jump Seat with Rose, laughing about a small lady they'd met on a distant planet long ago. "Do you remember the way she looked at you?" the Doctor asked enthusiastically. "And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"

"I thought I was gonna get frazzled!" Rose laughed manically, imitating the scene with him. Mickey nodded, smiling slightly as if they were to two strangest people in the world- well, Universe. "Yeah… so where was this, then?"

The Doctor, coming back down from a laughing high, said dismissively, "Oh, it was on this thing… planet- asteroid thing. It's a long story, you had to be there." Mickey nodded his head in acceptance, the Doctor's face turning serious as he looked down at the Console. "What are you doing that for?" he nodded to Mickey's finger, which was pressing down a round, black button.

"You told me to," Mickey replied.

The Doctor blinked in confusion, looking back at Rose for help. "When was that?" he asked after a few moments.

"'bout half hour ago."

"Oh," the Doctor wondered, remembering what he'd asked Mickey to hold to button for. "You can let go now," he ended, holding back a chuckle as Rose sniggered quietly. Mickey released his finger from the button, the tip of his finger white from the lack of blood. "How long's it been since I could'a stopped?" he asked injuredly as Rose continued to giggle.

"Ten minutes?" the Doctor guessed, a smile tugging on his lips. "Twenty... Twenty-nine?"

Mickey mouth hung open slightly, but he closed it immediately. "You forgot about me!"" he yelled accusingly.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor denied quickly. "No, I was- I was just… I was calibrating," he lied. "I- no, I know exactly what I'm-" Before he could finish his sentence, the TARDIS Console gave a loud bang, explosions erupting from the Rotor, under the Console itself, a few of the button flying across the room. The Doctor fell roughly against the Console, flicking as many switches as he could in a desperate attempt to get the TARDIS to land. "What's happened?" Rose asked breathlessly.

"The Time Vortex," the Doctor breathed. "It's gone. That's just impossible, it's gone!" Noticing the readings on the monitor and the blearing of the familiar alarm in the background, just hear able from the explosions, the Doctor exclaimed, "Brace yourselves! We're gonna crash!"

The TARDIS gave a violent jolt, sending all three of them flying from the Console. Mickey ended banging his head on one of the railings, but nevertheless unharmed, and the Doctor and Rose ended up under the Jump Seat, the Doctor having one arm clamped over Rose and onto the grating, making sure neither of them went very far.

Opening his eyes, the Doctor found immediately something was very wrong. The TARDIS lights were out, as was the light blue Rotor in the middle of the Console. Everything was just dark. But what worried him the most was that he couldn't sense the TARDIS in his mind. "Everyone alright?" he called as Rose began to emerge from the grating. "Mickey?" he called.

"Yeah," Mickey replied as he too scrambled off the floor. "I'm okay, sorry."

The Doctor got up with the other two, looking at the TARDIS Rotor. There was no light at all, no power- no life. He searched his head thoroughly, defiantly not liking the sign of the great, big absence in his mind, which the TARDIS herself had always occupied. It was dark, gloomy, and quite frankly, scary. There was nothing. Nothing what so ever. Watching the smoke and steam rising from the Console, he muttered, "She's dead…" he paced around the middle slowly, manically touching the metal material. "The TARDIS is dead."

"But you can fix it?" Rose asked, panic beginning to show in her voice.

"There's nothing to fix," the Doctor shook his head sadly. "She's perished," he flicked one of the Console's switches, knowing nothing was going to happen, shredding his last, tiny light of hope. "The last TARDIS in the Universe. Extinct."

There was a ling silence, Rose taking his hand tightly. "We can get help, yeah?"

"Where from?" he replied.

"We've landed," she said reasonable. "We've gotta be somewhere."

The Doctor shook his head, continuing to look at the lifeless room. "We fell out of the Vortex, into Void- nothingness. We're in some sort of… no place. The Silent Realm, The Lost Dimension-"

"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey called from the TARDIS doors, which he was peeking out of. The Doctor and Rose hurried over to him to see his comment was correct. They were in London. Twenty First century London, filled with people, cars and more people. "London, England, Earth!" Mickey exclaimed happily. "Hold on-" he jumped down from the grass and onto concrete, where he found an abandoned newspaper sitting all alone on a park bench. "1st of February this year. Not exactly far-flung, is it?"

"So this is London?" the Doctor asked, looking up at the sky at something- _something's- _that the other two had completely unnoticed in their phase of happiness. "Your city?"

"That's the one!" Mickey replied, looking down at the paper still.

"Just as you left it?"

"Bang on!"

Testily, the Doctor added, "Does that include the zeppelins?" Snapping his neck up, Mickey looked quizzically at the Doctor, who was gesturing above their heads. As he claimed, there were two great zeppelins flying over their heads, slowly soaring through the sky. "What the hell…" Mickey muttered lowly. "Okay, so it's London with the International Zeppelin Festival."

The Doctor continued to look around grimly, replying coldly, "This is not your world."

"But- if the dates the same-" Mickey stuttered, a bright light flicking on in his brain as he realized what was happening. "It's parallel, right? Am I right? A parallel Earth where they have like Zeppelins and stuff? Am I right? I'm right aren't I?"

"Must be," the Doctor nodded.

"So, a parallel world where-" Rose stuttered, looking towards a bus stop. Well, what was advertised on the bus stop, to be more precise.

"Oh, c'mon!" Mickey exclaimed. "You've seen it in films! An alternative to out world where everything's the same, but just a little bit different like- I don't know- traffic lights are blue, Tony Blaire never got elected-"

"And he's still alive," Rose finished. Frowning, Mickey turned to see a man smiling in suit -an orange drink in his hand- slapped against the bus stop. Above the man was the name Vitex Lite, probably referring to the drink in his hand. Mickey and the Doctor looked between Rose and the picture for a good few moments as Rose tip toed toward it. "A parallel world and my dad's still alive."

"Don't look at it, Rose," the Doctor ordered sternly. "Don't even think about it, this is not your world."

"But he's my dad," Rose whispered brokenly. As soon as she was in distance, she extended her hand to touch the figure, jumping back in surprise as the advertisement started to talk. _"Trust me on this," _said the picture of Peter Alan Tyler. He gave a thumbs up to his observers and said the phrase again. _"Trust me on this."_

"That's weird," Rose admitted. "But he's alive, and he's a success! He was always planning these daft little schemes, healthy drinks and stuff. Everyone said there were useless, but he did it!" A smile was plastered on her face. Until the Doctor blocked her view. He took her firmly by the shoulders and made sure she couldn't see her father. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now, okay- stop looking at him! Your father is dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete, that is _a _Pete. For all we know he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you." Rose looked down at the ground as she took on board what he was saying. He was right, He was always bloody right. But that wouldn't stop her. As the words 'trust me on this' continued in the background, Rose slipped her arms around the Doctor middle, giving him a quick hug which he returned.

Rose found herself idly strolling along the bank of the Thames after telling Mickey she'd be fine. Noticing a bench, she sat down, burying herself deep in thought. Darkness washed over her as a zeppelin trudged across the sky, a big 'C' on its belly. Rose's phone gave a loud beeping; notifying her she had a message. Taking the phone from her pocket, 'welcome- free trial period' flashing itself across her screen. Pressing the play button to a video, she listened to a news reporter.

"_And it's good news for Great Britain as John Lumic returns to the country of his birth. Mr Lumic, the inventor of high-content metal, has denied allegations of ill health."_

The screen turned to a man, stuck helplessly in a wheel chair as he struggled to speak. _"We're all flesh and blood. It's the brain that makes us human, and my mind is more creative than ever!"_

The screen turned back to the news reporter, the young man speaking once again. "_With shares in Cybus Industries doubling in price, Mr Lumic..." _Rose pressed the button to stop the video, looking up again at the zeppelin that covered her. She now knew that this machine belonged to the head of the Cybus Network, whatever that was.

Rose smiled as she looked up information about her Parallel father. It was true. The Doctor had said that Parallel Pete had his own Jackie, and he was right. But the thought that saddened her wasn't the fact her father was dead back home and alive here, not the fact she was missing her Parallel mothers birthday. It was the fact they hadn't had any children, they didn't have their own Rose. She didn't even exist in this Universe, she was dead. Non-existent. That thought sent a cold shiver up her spine.

Before she could go too deep into thought, she noticed someone was walking toward her. A young man and a dog. The young man had shaggy dirty blonde hair, which nearly feel into his TARDIS blue eyes. As he got nearer, she noticed there was a long, red scar running down his cheek, fairly new. She recognised this boy. He'd travelled with her and the Doctor for a short time. This was Jason. But it was the dog that made her smile. Pulling on the red lead was a puppy. A red, brown and white welsh border collie with merle green eyes. This was Eliza's dog, Wolf; or at least, a younger version of him considering he was pulling against the lead roughly and panting as his collar chocked him.

"_Run!" _Wolf called as he pulled harder. _"Fast, run! Bird, chase!" _he called again, now pulling Jason with him.

Rose frowned as the scene continued. She remembered that Eliza and Wolf could communicate telepathically, but she never once heard anything herself. She shouldn't be able to hear what the puppy version of Wolf was saying; neither should she have been able to hear Jason's stern reply. _"Wolf, pack it in!"_

Leaving the thought for later, she smiled at the young man as he reached her. "Need a hand, mate?" she asked, gesturing to Wolf, who was sniffing Rose up and down, wagging his tail when he thought she was friendly enough. Jumping up, his paws bounced onto her legs, with a lot less grace as he used to, and stuck his nose in the air. _"Scratch!" _he ordered Rose, herself laughing as she complied.

"Nah, thanks," Jason replied meekly as he watched cautiously what the dog was doing. "Not really fully trained yet, so if he starts licking you or anything, just push him off," he smiled. He sat down on the bench next to Rose, laughing as Wolf pounced into the bench in-between them. "He's friendly enough, just very… boy stress."

Rose nodded as she petted Wolf behind the ears. "Is he yours?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nah, I'm only taking him for a walk," Jason replied. "My mum's dog, I'm only training him for her."

_Whoa, hang on… _Rose thought, having an epiphany. _His mum's dog? But he told us he was training the dog for Eliza…_

"What's your mum's name?" Rose asked insistently.

Jason chuckled to himself, replying, "She's got a lot of names. Lupine, Lizzie, Riva, Rachel-"

"Eliza?" Rose butted in, looking at the young man intensely.

It was the look in Jason's eyes that told her she'd gone way too far. _Way, way_ too far. One thing she had learnt through their short time of travelling together was that he was a very kind hearted boy. But she wasn't sure what to say to this. She'd never seen this side of him before, now wishing she would never see it again. "How do you know that name?"

Not sure whether she should answer the question or not, not sure if it would be safe or not, she considered it. Jason was, at the end of the day, just a teenage boy. What was he going to do? Hurt her merely because she knew his supposed _mothers _name? "I used to travel with her a while back, is all," Rose shrugged, hoping her voice came by as casual. "She left not too long ago. Said something about a job, or something like that," she continued to pat Wolf's head, but looked down at her feet. "So, I'm right in thinking that's your mum?"

Jason continued to stare as her bemusingly, but then seemed like he'd remembered something. He gave a weak smile, replying, "Yeah, that's her," he paused for a second before adding curiously, "Is your name Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah," Rose laughed. "She's talked about me?"

Jason nodded. "Sort of," he replied.

"But how are you even here?" Rose asked the question as it popped into her mind. "Me and my friends are on a Parallel world, you shouldn't even be here."

Jason watched her closely, chuckling to himself, stroking Wolf gently. "You're right, I shouldn't," he ended petting the dog, and brought his hand up to Rose temple, pressing on it gently. Rose tried to take his hand away, even look in another direction, but she couldn't. She couldn't move, at all. "Don't worry," Jason assured, taking his hand off and getting off the bench. "I'll give mum your love." Rose watched out of the corner of her eye as the young man and dog strode away, looking back every ten seconds or so, until he disappeared around a corner. This was when Rose was beginning to panic. Why couldn't she move? What had he done to her? She listened as the waves hit the wall, making her feel dizzy. She felt numb, light-headed and sick.

_What the hell has he done to me? _Rose thought to herself. Feeling the very tip of her fingers was coming back. _That was not like him at all… hang on, who was that? _As the numbness began to subside, she tried to remember the face of her attacker… was she even attacked? He must have done something to stop her from moving. Was that even classed as being attacked? She tried to remember their conversation. She remembered there was a dog involved… maybe?

_What am I on about? _Rose thought to herself. _I wasn't attacked! Nobody's even passed me, let alone a guy with a dog! I really have to stop day dreaming… _

It was at least another half hour before the Doctor and Mickey came strutting around the corner, the Doctor greeting her happily, "There you are!" He gave an even happier smile, pulling a mall roundish object from his coat pocket. "No applaud, I fixed it! Twenty four hours, then we're flying back to reality!" he plopped himself on the bench beside her a Mickey did the same.

Although the Doctor was brimming with excitement with the news, Rose was not. She stared down at her phone, not even looking at what the Doctor was holding. The Doctor's grin fell when he noticed the phone as he remembered what phones could do, giving the right network. Hesitantly, he asked, "What is it?"

Taking a breath, Roe replied shakily, "My phone connected. It's this Cybus Network; it finds your phone. It gave me internet access."

The Doctor gave an irritated smile, looking back up at her. "Rose, whatever it said, this is the wrong world."

She shook her head in reply, adding, "I don't exist. There's no Rose Tyler, I was never born," she fiddled with her mobile again, continuing, "There's Pete and Jackie, they still got married, but they never had kids."

The Doctor noticed the well covered crack in her voice, signalling she was close to tears. Moving quickly to grab her mobile, he ordered, "Give me that phone." But Rose was quicker. She snapped her hand back, not letting his fingers grasp the small plastic object. "They're rich," she continued, giving a weak smile. "They've got a house, and cars, and everything they want… but they haven't got me," she stood up, walking to a nearby railing and looking down at her phone. Knowing his respond, she turned and looking back at the Doctor. "I wonna see 'em," she told him."

"You can't," he tried to reason.

"I just wonna see 'em," Rose repeated, more in a begging tone this time. "You just said twenty four hours!"

"But you can't become their daughter, that's not how it works," the Doctor replied sternly.

Mickey, who had stayed in his own thoughts since Rose mentioned their twenty four hour limit, stood up slowly, looking down at the Doctor. "We've got twenty four hours, yeah?"

The Doctor whipped his head back around to see the young man backing away slowly from the bench, walking in the opposite direction Rose was. "Where are you going?" he asked, bewildered.

"Well, I can do what I want!" Mickey called back as Rose continued walking in the other direction. "I've got the address and everything," she called back.

"Both of you, stay where you are!" the Doctor ordered. "Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!"

"I just wonna see 'em," Rose insisted, as Mickey agreed. "Yeah, I've got things to see as well."

"Like what?" the Doctor exclaimed, too annoyed with the pair of them to notice he'd just said the wrong words.

Mickey scoffed angrily. "You don't know anything about me, do you? It's always about Rose, I'm just a spare part."

Rose turned around again, looking apologetically as the Doctor. "Sorry, I've got to go," she called, walking quickly in the other direction again, not looking back. The Doctor looked towards Mickey again, himself pointing towards Rose. "Go on then. You can only go after one of us, and it aint never gonna be me, is it?" Looking between them, the Doctor decided there wasn't really any choice, walking in the direction Rose went, he looked back at Mickey. "Back here in twenty four hours!" he barked as he began to run. As soon as he was out of earshot, Mickey scoffed. "Yeah, if I aint found something better," he said quietly, walking in the opposite direction.

_AN: So there was me sat in my room thinking 'It's New Years, sod it' and ended up clicking the upload button. Happy New Year!_


	12. Rise of the Cybermen Part 2

_**Rise of The Cybermen Part 2**_

"Any idea what Mickey's gone of to?" the Doctor asked Rose a little while after he'd caught up with her. They were walking down a street, full of people, all wearing some sort of ear pods, another difference to their original Universe. The Doctor eyed them cautiously at first, them chose to ignore them.

"His Nan probably," Rose replied, smiling slightly. The Doctor gave her a confused look, then she continued, "His mum couldn't cope. His dad hung about for a while, but he just sort of wondered off. He was brought up by his Nan," her smile grew at the thought of the sweet old lady. "She was such a wonderful woman- God, she used to _slap _him!" she chuckled for a few seconds before turning serious again. "But then she died. She tripped and fell down the stairs. It was abou' five years ago now, I was still in school."

The Doctor looked down at the ground as they spoke, remembering his comment he spat at Mickey. "I never knew."

"You never asked," Rose countered.

"You never said," he battled.

Rose gave a sorta shrug, then continued, "That's Mickey. I suppose I- well, _we _just take him for granted." She bit her lip in thought for a moment before taking the Doctor's arm and tapping it. "Do you think she's still alive in this world?"

"Could be," the Doctor replied, linking their arms. "Like I said; Parallel world; Gingerbread house, all those temptations. We need to get out of here as fast as we can." Before Rose could reply, there was a loud beeping, an alarm that ran through the street. All the people, all those wearing the small, strange ear pods, stopped dead in their tracks.

Looking around in confusion, Rose asked, "What're they doing?" as the Doctor walked to a young woman, waving his hand in front of her face. "They've stopped." Looking to one of the people's ears, he saw the low flashing of the blue ear pods, which was in sync in the alarm. "It's the ear pieces," he said in wonder. "A bit like Bluetooth attachments, but everyone's connected together."

Rose's phone gave a loud beeping, telling her she had a notification. She unzipped her pocket and took out her mobile, frowning when she scrolled through the 'daily downloads'. "It's on my phone, it's automatic, look," she gestured the device held securely in her hands as the Doctor peered over her shoulder. "News, International news, Sport, Weather," she listed as she continued scrolling.

"They get it direct," the Doctor hissed quietly. "Downloaded right into their heads," he looked around the crowd of people who had stopped, taking note of the unsurprised, unworried, non moving faces. Clearly they didn't know what was happening. "Everyone shares the same information," he looked down at Rose's phone again, taking it in his own hands. "Daily Downloads, published by Cybus Industries," he read aloud. He scrolled down the screen, stopping at the word 'joke'. Before he could continue looking, all the frozen people around them began laughing at nothing in particular. When they all stopped, the blue flashing on the ear pieces ceased, allowing the crowd to move again. Each one went in a different direction, acting as if nothing had happened, leaving the Doctor and Rose confused and stunned.  
"You lot, you're obsessed," the Doctor told his young companion. "You'd do anything for the latest upgrade."

"Oi," Rose thumped his arm playfully. "Not 'my lot', different world, remember?"

"It's not _that _far off you world," the Doctor smiled cheekily. "This is only parallel." He continued scrolling down the screen, stopping when he saw the word 'Vitex'. "Oh, look at that," he gestured the phone. "Cybus Industries own just about every company in Britain, including Vitex. Mr Pete Tyler is very well connected." He looked down at Rose, who was practically hanging off his arms, giving him an innocent smile and the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. Realising what his big mouth had just said, he frantically looked between the phone and Rose. He _was _curious about the ear pods, she wanted to go see her parallel parents. They both benefited…

The Doctor gave a sigh, tossing her the phone as he took her hand in his. "Oh, c'mon then, I give up. Let's go see him."

* * *

The two quickly found the Tyler Mansion, able to sneak in easily due to the Doctor's psychic paper and claims of 'We were told we would get Uniforms here', despite Rose's protests.

They ended up walking out of the kitchens, the Doctor carrying drinks and Rose carrying food. "We could have been anyone," Rose hissed under her breath, looking back at him.

"It got us in, didn't it?" the Doctor replied with a smile as someone took a drink from the tray he was holding.

"You're in charge of the psychic paper, we could have been guests. Celebrities. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose. Typical you, we end up serving. I got enough of this back home."

"If you wonna know what's going one, you've got to work in the kitchens," the Doctor continued to smile at the guests, walking around and offering champaign.

Roughly ten minutes later, the Doctor found Rose talking to one of the women, Rose giving her an evil look as she walked away. Whatever the woman had said, it defiantly didn't impress Rose. He stood next to her as she watched the others chatting, laughing and mingling. "According to Lucy," the Doctor started, but was interrupted.

"Who's Lucy?" Rose cut him off.

He nodded to a woman brunette, also a waitress, who was offering something to one of the guests. "She's carrying the salmon pinwheels," he replied innocently.

"Oh, _that's _Lucy, is it?" Rose replied. She raised her eyebrows at him a gave a little smirk.

"Jealous much?" he joked. "Anyway, she said that the man over there," he nodded to a man in the middle of the room, who was happily shaking someone's hand. "Is the President of Great Britain."

"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?" Rose asked in wonder.

"Seems so," the Doctor agreed. They walked toward the middle of the room, stopped when they heard a fork being tapped on glass, an 'excuse me!' ringing through the crowd. "Excuse me, thank you very much!"

Rose turned towards the oh so familiar voice. In front of her, on the staircase, was Pete Tyler, her dad- well, _parallel _dad, all dressed up and polished, in a suit. "I would just like to thank you all for coming on this very special occasion. My wife's… _thirty ninth _birthday," the crowd gave a chuckled as Pete gave a thumbs up. "Trust me on this," he told the crowd in a joking manor. "So without any further a due, here she is. The birthday girl, my lovely wife; Jackie Tyler." The crowd began to clap as the one and only began making her way down the staircase toward her husband. She wore a black dress, her hair done up in a bun, proudly showing off the ear pod latched onto the side of her shinning face. "Now, I'm not giving a speech, that's what my parties are famous for; no work, no politics. Just a few good mates, and plenty of Black Market Whiskey- pardon me, Mr President," she joked. "So yeah, get on with it, enjoy yourselves!" She took Pete's hand in hers as she walked down the rest of the staircase, walking right passed the Doctor and Rose as if they weren't even there. The Doctor took note of Rose's hurt expression, leaning down to whisper, "You can't stay, even if there were some way of telling them."

"'course I can't," Rose nodded. "I've still got my mum at home; my _real _mum. I couldn't just leave her. It's just… they've got each other," she gestured to her parallel parents. "And she's got no one."

"She's got _you_," the Doctor corrected. "Those two haven't. They've the ones missing out, not your mum," he gave a small sigh, looking around the room. "All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right."

Before Rose could agree, there was a small barking running through the room, followed by Jackie's gleeful greeting. "Rose! Come here, darling, come to mummy!" she called to her dog, picking her up when she got into arms reach. Rose- the actual Rose- watched in shock as the two left the room. The Doctor watched as the scene unfolded, struggling to bite back a laugh. He was doing well, until he saw his companion's expression. He sobered quickly when she gave him an icy glare, showing him that she didn't think it was funny at all. He cleared his throat and scratched his neck. "Sorry," he said.

With the instruction to 'mingle' and 'relax' Rose walked around the room, talking to a few people every so often, as the Doctor remembered the soul reason why they were at the party in the first place. Wondering around the house, he shortly passed a door that was slightly ajar, a lone computer sitting of a desk, the logo of Cybus Industries slapped against the screen. Making sure no one would notice, he walked in the room, closing the door behind him firmly. Taking out his specs, he smiled as he clicked on a video, happy he was getting somewhere. _"This is the ultimate upgrade," _came a voice from the speakers. _"Our greatest step into Cyberspace." _The Doctor looked horrified at the presentation. He'd seen this before, _so_ long ago. "Cybus!" he hissed as he ran from the room. He quickly found Rose, who was peering out of a window. He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked out the window as well, his hearts racing at what he saw. "It's happening again," he muttered. "I've seen them before."

"What are they?" Rose asked urgently. She recognised the strange machines, at least part of them.

"Cybermen," the Doctor replied, hardly heard over the screams of terror as the window was smashed through, one of the said metal men walking through the frames remains, one after the other. The Doctor took Rose's hand and took her to the middle of the room, along with the others that were being rounded there. He squeezed it tightly, hoping to calm her.

"Mr Lumic," the President called through his ear pod.

"_Mr President," _the man on the other line, presumably Mr Lumic, replied. _"I suppose a remark about 'crashing the party' would be appropriate at this point," _he began sniggering.

"I forbad this!" the President exclaimed.

"_These are my children, Sir," _Mr Lumic replied. _"Would you deny my family?"_

"What are they?" Rose asked. "Robots?"

"Worst than that," the Doctor replied to her.

"Who were these people?" the President demanded.

Rose frowned as she looked at the President, then looked back at the Doctor. "They're people?"

"They _were_," the Doctor corrected. "Until they had all their humanity taken away. It's a living brain jammed inside a Cybernetic body with a heart of steal, all emotions removed."

"Why all their emotions?"

The Doctor took a breath before replying, "Because it hurts."

"These people," the President said again. "Who were they?!"

"_They were homeless, retched and useless!" _Lumic replied. _"Until I saved them, and elevated them, and gave them life- eternal! And now, I leave you in their capable hands. Goodnight, Sir!"_

After the conversation had ended, one of the Cybermen walked in front of the President. "**We have been upgraded,**" it said simply, it's mouth flashing blue as the words came.

"Into what?" the Doctor demanded.

"**Into the next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us.**"

The President looked around at the other Cybermen, who were once people, and looked at them with great sympathy. "I'm so sorry, But listen to me; this experiment ends tonight!"

"**Upgrading is compulsory,**" the Cyberman insisted.

"And if I refuse?" the President tested.

"Don't," the Doctor warned.

"What if I refuse?" the President repeated.

"I'm telling you, don't!" the Doctor said more urgently.

"I said 'What happens if I refuse?'." The President insisted.

"**Then you are not compatible.**" The Cyberman replied. "**You will be Deleted.**" Before the President could argue again, the Cyberman lifted its arms and pressed its hand roughly to the Presidents neck, sending an electric blue light up and down his body, killing him instantly. As soon as he fell to the ground, the people around the room began to scream and run as the Cybermen approached the fleeing citizens, killing them also. The Doctor, seeing an easy way out through the empty window, grabbed Rose's hand again and began rushing towards the window. "There's nothing we can do!" he told her as he helped her out the window. Turning, he quickly led her into another direction as he saw a line of Cybermen marching towards the house. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Pete jump through the window they escaped from, calling after him.

"Is there a way out?" the Doctor asked him.

"The side gates!" Pete replied as he took the lead. "Who are you? How'd you know so much?"

"You'd never believe it in a million years-" the Doctor said as he skidded to a halt, Cybermen rounding the corner he was about to fly around.

"Get behind me!" called an all too familiar voice. The Doctor and Rose turned to see Mickey and an unknown figure kneeling on the ground, both holding guns and aiming them at the metal men. After a small round of bullets, the Cybermen all stopped not too far away from them. Rose quickly brought Mickey into a hug, relieved he was okay. He soon brushed her off, looking at her with a bemused expression. "Yeah, no offence, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?"

"Rose!" Called another voice from a nearby van. Rose was surprised to see another Mickey running towards them, and looked between the two of them in confusion. "Tha's not me!" he panted when he reached them. "That's, like...the other one."

"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickey's!" the Doctor said dramatically.

"It's _Ricky_," the other Mickey spat.

"There's more of them," the real Mickey said as the continuing of Cybermen steps ran through the garden. Another two rows of Cybermen joined them, cornering off any means of escape. "We're surrounded," Rose gulped.

Ricky took aim again, putting the gun down when the Doctor said that bullets wouldn't stop them. "Put your hands up!" he commanded his party. "We surrender!" he added to the Cybermen, who were now marching foreword towards them. "There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade programme. Take us to be processed."

One of the Cybermen stopped not too far away from the Doctor. "**You are rouge elements.**"

The Doctor frowned as he held his hands up high. "But we surrender."

"**You are incompatible.**"

"But this is a surrender!" the Doctor repeated. "Listen to me, we surrender!"

"**You are inferior. Men will be reborn as Cybermen, but you will perish under maximum Deletion.**" All the Cybermen that surrounded the group pressed their hands to their metal chests, then thrust them forewords, walking toward them chanting 'Delete, Delete, Delete'.


	13. The Age of Steel Part 1

_**The Age of Steel Part 1**_

The Doctor could honestly say this moment was probably one of the most nerve racking in his long life. Not because of the Cybermen walking towards them chanting they were basically going to kill them, but because of Rose, who had her shaking arms raised above her head. He'd promised her mother he'd keep her safe and untouched. He'd promised himself she'd be safe and untouched. He knew a way to get out of this problem, but it just made him realise how simple and easy it would be to lose someone.

As the Cybermen crept foreword, the Doctor quickly snuck his hand into his Tux pocket, taking out the small, round object he had taken from the bottom of the TARDIS, her last source of life left. He thrust is toward the nearest Cyberman, an orange glow bouncing off the first and hitting the others behind it. The Cybermen screamed in pain for a few measly seconds before their disintegrated remains fell to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Ricky demanded.

"We'll have that instead- RUN!" the Doctor replied, running towards the side gates Pete was talking about. From behind, there was the beeping of a van, a woman driving towards them. "In!" she commanded. The two new men grabbed their guns and rushed toward the vehicle, while Pete made to go back to the house, the Doctor grabbing him by the jacket. "I've got to go back, my wife's in there!" Pete explained.

The Doctor shook his head as he looked back at the house. "Anyone left in that house is dead. If you wonna help, then don't let her die for nothing. You've gotta come with us right now." Pete looked between the house and the van before nodding himself, running off to the beeping van.

Rose stood staring at the house, unmoving, unable to take her eyes from it. "Rose, she's not your mother," the reminded her, taking her hand, encouraging her to follow him.

"I know," Rose said, the Doctor's voice snapping her out of her trance. They ran back to the van, Rose in first, the Doctor quickly after her.

"Finished chatting?" the van driver asked impatiently. "Never seen a slower get-away in my life!" The Doctor quickly closed the sliding door, listening to the loud marching of the remaining Cybermen. The Doctor sat down next to Rose and Mickey, taking notice of Rose's worried appearance. Snaking an arm around her shoulder, he gave a light squeeze, receiving a weak smile in reply. He rubbed her back gently as he fiddled with the Power Cell in his hand. "What was that thing?" Ricky asked from the front of the van.

"Little bit of technology from my home," the Doctor answered.

"It's stopped glowin'," Mickey noticed. "Has it run out?"  
"It's on a revitalising loop," the Doctor replied, slipping the Cell back into his pocket. "It'll charge back up in about four hours."

"Right, so we don't have a weapon anymore?" Ricky asked.

"We've got weapons," said the young man, who's name was Jake. He gestured around the van, then nodded to Pete. "They might not work on those metal men, but their good enough for men like _him_."

"Leave him alone!" Rose defended her parallel father. "What's he done wrong?"

"Oh, you know, just laid down a trap to take down the Government, and left Lumic in change," Jack replied in a merry tone, his expression telling them he was far from happy about Mr Pete Tyler being with them.

"If I was part of all that, do you really thin I'd leave my wife inside?" Pete spat coldly.

"Maybe your plan went wrong," Ricky shrugged. "Still gives us the right to execute you."

"Talk about executions, and you'll make me your enemy," the Doctor growled. "And take some really good advise, you don't wonna do that."

"All the same," Ricky brushed him off. "We have evidence that Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since Twenty Point Five."

Rose's expression told her what she thought of that comment. She looked back at Pete, asking in a small voice, "Is that true?" Pete said nothing as he looked down at the van floor, bringing his hand up to one of the railings on the ceiling to steady himself.

"We've got a Government mole who feeds us information," said the woman driving the van. "Lumic's private files, the South American operations, the lot. The secret broadcasts twice a week."

Pete gave a small smile, replying, "Broadcasts from Gemini?"

"How'd you know that?" Ricky demanded.

"Because I'm Gemini," Pete answered. "That's _me_."

"Yeah, well you would say that," Ricky battled.**  
**Pete looked at the young man evenly before hissing, "Encrypted wavelength six-five-seven using Binary Nine. That's the only reason I was working for Lumic, to get information," he shook his head and scoffed. "I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get? Scooby-Doo and his gang. They've even got the van!" The Doctor looked around the vehicle, deciding that for a sort of live action Scooby-Doo rip off, it wasn't a bad van, despite all the weaponry . "But the Preachers know what they're doing," Mickey told them. "Ricky said he was London's most wanted."

Ricky made a face and stuttered, "Yeah… that aint exactly… I'm London's most wanted for… parking tickets…" he said sheepishly. The Doctor smirked at Ricky, Rose raising her eyebrows at him. "But they were deliberate! Fighting the system, park anywhere, that's me!" Even his friend Jake was chuckling.

"Good policy," the Doctor commented, liking this young man more and more. "I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested..."

"And I'm Rose," she greeted. She gave a small wave. "Hello."

"Great," Pete shook his head. "That's the name of my dog," Rose winced slightly. "Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side." Rose made a tiny smile, quietly saying to him, "I knew you weren't a traitor."

"Yeah?" Pete questioned. "And how's that?" Rose could practically feel the Doctor warning gaze through the back of her skull, advising her to pick her words carefully. "I just did," Rose shrugged.

Pete shook his head. "But they took my _wife_…"

"She might still be alive," Rose reminded him.

"That's even worse," Pete said sincerely. "That's what Lumic does. He takes the living and turns then into those machines."

"Cybermen," the Doctor said darkly. "They're called Cybermen, and I'd take those ear pods off if I were you," the Doctor outstretched his hand, waiting to be filled by the two small objects. He took out his Sonic Screwdriver from his jacket pocket, buzzing the two. "You never know, Lumic could be listening." The two ear pieces gave a spark, showing they were disabled. "But he's over reached himself, he's still a businessman. He assassinated the President. All we have to do it go into the city and inform the authorities, because I promise you, this ends tonight."

* * *

When they'd made their way into the city, they quickly had to pull over due to the amount of people walking through the street, not a care in the world if they got hit by a van. The party poured out of the van and onto the street. "What's going on?" Rose asked, dodging the touch of the apparently zombiefied people.

"It's the ear pods," the Doctor replied. "Lumic's taking control."

"Can't we just... I don't know, take 'em off?" Rose asked as she reached up to a passing man, the Doctor stopping her. "Don't. You'll cause a brainstorm. The Human Race- for such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it," the Doctor claimed, earning a glare from Jake. Looking down the street, Jake whispered, "Hey, come and see this." The others looking to where Jake was pointing. There was a small row of houses, beside them was a long line of Cybermen, guiding the people out of their homes, into the street and round the corner out of sight. "Lumic must have a base of operation."

"Battersea," Pete informed. "That's where he was building his prototypes," he gave a long breath, muttering, "He's dying. This all started as a way of keeping the brain alive, at any cost."

Rose thought back to when they were still in the house, the Cybermen walking towards the window as she and the Doctor peered out, watching as they marched toward them. She recognised them greatly. It was only them she remembered where she recognised them from. "Thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I?" she said, mainly to the Doctor. "Those heads- those handle shapes at Van Statten's museum."

"There are Cybermen in our Universe," the Doctor informed her."They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they're starting from scratch right here on earth."

"What the hell are you two on abou'?" Pete asked.

"Never mind that," Ricky told them. "We need to get out of the city," he turned to leave the street, stopping when he heard the stomping of Cybermen heading their way. "Okay, split up. Mrs Moore," he pointed at the van driver. "You look after them lot, Jake, you distract them, you go left, I'll go right, we'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move." Ricky and Jake headed off down the street, Mickey looking at his two friends. "I'm going with him," he told them, before rushing after his Parallel self.

"Be careful!" Rose called after him.

"C'mon, let's go," Mrs Moore said as they began to run, stopping many times as rows of Cybermen blocked their path. They ran down an alleyway, the Doctor quietly ordering them behind some bins and full black bags. Rose held on tightly to Pete's hand as the Doctor peeked under one of the dustbins to make sure they were all leaving. It was going to plan until they stopped right beside the dustbins, turning in their direction. The Doctor quickly rose his Sonic as they and pressing the button, causing them to keep moving. When they were half way down the street, the Doctor ushered his small party from the dustbins, running back the way they came.

* * *

They reached Bridge Street not long after, mainly sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. "Are you alright?" the Doctor asked Rose once they had all gotten their breath back. Rose gave a small nod, slipping into the Doctor embrace when he outstretched his arms.

"I ran past the river!" came the cry of Jake as he ran down the street. "You should've seen it. The whole city's on the look out. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." There were footsteps running from behind Jake, normal ones. The group turned to see Mickey/Ricky running down the street towards them. "Here he is!" Jake greeted happily. When the young man didn't reply, Jake's grin faded as he began to frown. "Which one are you?"

"I'm sorry," said the young man, confirming it to the Doctor and Rose to be Mickey. "The Cybermen. He... couldn't..."

Jake shook his head, asking urgently, "Are you Ricky?"

"That's you, aint it, Mickey?" Rose asked quietly.

Mickey nodded, his eyes sealed on Jake. "I tried, he was runnin'-"

"Shut it," Jake spat, his face twisted in pain like he was about to burst into tears at any moment. "Don't even talk about him. You're nothing, you are!"

"We can mourn him when London is safe," the Doctor said quietly. "But now, we move on."

* * *

They made their way to the River Battersea, which over looked one of Lumic's factories. "The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place, to be converted."

"We've got to get in there and shut it down," Rose muttered.

"And how do we do that?" Mickey asked.

"Oh, I'll think of something," the Doctor said dismissively. Mickey frowned at him, and replied in an accusing manor, "You're just making this up as you go along!"

"Yup," the Doctor agreed. "But I do it brilliantly!" Rose gave a smirk as Mickey nodded his head in agreement.

Mrs Moore was on the ground, her laptop placed gently upon the dry grass. It showed the layout of some sort of floor, showing the 2-D and 3-D levels. "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look, cooling tunnels... underneath the plant... big enough to walk through."

"So we go under there and into the control centre?" the Doctor asked, pointing at one of the floors.

"There's another way in," Pete spoke up. "Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'd get in."

"Well, we cant just go strolling up," Jake interrupted.

"Well, we could," Mrs Moore told him. She reaching into the front of her back pack, taking out four ear pieces. "With these. Fake ear pods. Dead, no signal. You'd put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for part of the crowd."

"Then that's my job," Pete said determinedly.

"You'd have to show no emotion," the Doctor told him. "Any sign of emotion would give you away."

Before Pete could reply, Rose turned to Mrs Moore. "How many of those have you got?"

"Jut two sets."

"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie... I'm coming with you," she told Pete as she stood up beside him. The Doctor gave her a wary, uneasy look. "What does she matter to you?" Pete asked.

"We haven't got time," she told him quickly. Not able to ignore the look the Doctor gave her, she sighed. "I'm going with him, Doctor. That's that."

He gave her a small smile, replying, "There's no stopping you, is there?" She shook her head determinedly, letting out another sigh of relief as he chucked her the ear pods. "We can take the ear pods at the same time, give the people their minds back, so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jokey-boy!" he called taking him a little bit higher up a slope. "Lumic's transmitting the control signal, it must be from over there," he took his Sonic out of his pocket and pointed at a zeppelin, a big 'C', on its belly. "There it is, on the zeppelin, d'you see? A great big transmitter, good thing Lumic likes showing off. You think you can take it out?"

"Consider it done," Jake replied smiling, looking over at his big, fat challenge. The Doctor jogged over to the woman on the ground, who was shutting down her laptop. "Mrs Moore, would you care to accompany me into the cooling tunnels?"

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" Mrs Moore replied, sticking her laptop back into her backpack.

"We attack on three sides- above - between - below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines," the Doctor ran through everything in his mind, ticking everything off as he went along. "What about me?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor stared at the young man for a few moments, trying to remember when he'd shown up. "Mickey! You can... erm..."

"What?" Mickey asked again, more forcefully this time. "Stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog? Nah, those days are over, I'm going with Jake."

"I don't need you, idiot," Jake hissed at him.

"I'm not an idiot!" Mickey exclaimed. "You got that? I'm offering to help."

"Whatever," Jake scoffed as he trotted down the slope towards the giant zeppelin. Silently, Mickey turned to follow him, turning when the Doctor called him. "Good luck."

"Yeah," Mickey said. "You too. Rose, I'll see you later."

"If we survive this, I'll see you back at the TARDIS," the Doctor told him.

Mickey smiled, then nodded his head before continuing after Jake. "That's a promise," he called back before disappearing down the slope. Rose turned to the Doctor, who quickly enveloped her in a tight hug. He kissed her on the forehead, then rested his head on her shoulder, muttering a 'Good luck' into her hair.

* * *

The Doctor and Mrs Moore made their down one of the cooling tunnels, descending a small ladder which led to a narrow path. "It's freezing," Mrs Moore complained as she rubbed her hands together.

"Any sign of a light switch?" the Doctor asked through the darkness.

"I can't see a thing," Mrs Moore said as she slipped off her backpacks, digging into the side of it. "But I've got these," she retreated her hand and pulled out two head torches. "A device for every occasion."

"Haven't got a hot dog in there have you?" the Doctor joked as he put on his torch. "I'm starving."

Mrs Moore scoffed. "Of all the things to wish for... that's mechanically recovered meat."

"I know," the Doctor admitted. "It's the Cyberman of food, but it is tasty."

Mrs Moore nodded in agreement as she continued to search through her bag. "Here," she said as she gave the Doctor another device. "Another torch as well," she said as she took another on out for herself.

"Let's see where we are," the Doctor suggested, flicking on the switch on his hand torch, jumping back in surprise to see a Cyberman, its back to the wall, followed by more Cybermen, all lifeless and unmoving. "Already converted," the Doctor told Mrs Moore. "Just paralyzed. Come on," he encouraged as he walked down the small, narrow path. The Doctor stopped in front of one of the dead Cybermen, tapping it on the face with his knuckle. "Let's go slowly," he advised the short woman. "Keep an eye out for trip systems."

They walked for a short while in silence, passing Cyberman after Cyberman, until the Doctor broke it. "How did you get into this, then? Rattling along with the Preachers?"

Mrs Moore gave short laugh. "I used to be ordinary," she told him. "Worked at Cybus Industries. '95. 'Til one day, I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it, then suddenly, I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techy, so I... I just sat down and taught myself everything."

"What about Mr Moore?" the Doctor questioned.

"Well, he's not called _Moore_," she admitted. The Doctor gave her a look, and she continued, "I got that from a book; 'Mrs Moore'. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you? Got any family, or...?"

"Oh, who needs family?" the Doctor asked. "I've got the whole world on my shoulders. I've got Rose, I suppose..." he trailed off. Looking back at Mrs Moore, he said, "Go on, then. What's your real name?"

She hesitated for a moment before answering, "Angela Price," the Doctor smiled at her, Mrs Moore instantly ordering, "Don't tell a soul."

"Not a word," he promised. They walked for another few minutes, Mrs Moore jumping from her skin while asking frantically, "Doctor, did that one just move?" He looked to one of them, surprised to see it turn completely toward him. "They're waking up! RUN!" The two of them legged it down the path at fun speed, quickly dodging all arms that extended towards them. Shortly, they made their way to a ladder, the Doctor rapidly climbing it, using his Sonic to open the hatch as Mrs Moore began to panic. He hastily opened the hatch, running up the ladder, as did Mrs Moore. They shut the hatch again just as one of thee Cybermen was around to follow them. "Oh, Good team, Mrs Moore," the Doctor smiled as the adrenaline began to leave his body.


	14. The Age of Steel Part 2

_**The Age of Steel Part 2**_

They began walking through the edge of a dark, cold, metal corridor, keeping a sharp eye open for any Cybermen. As they were about to round a corner, a Cyberman jumped around it, Mrs Moore instantly going for her back pack, being as it was only one. "**You have not been upgraded.**"

"Yeah?" Mrs Moore spat. "well, upgrade this," she threw from her backpack a small device, wrapped to the top and bottom in wire. The device latched onto the Cyberman, sending hundreds of blue lights running up and down its body. The Cyberman soon fell to the ground with a thud, the Doctor smiling widely. "What the hell was that?" he asked as he approached the Cyberman.

"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit," Mrs Moore replied proudly.

"Well, you figured right," the Doctor congratulated. He kneeled down to get a better look at the metal body, taking out his Sonic. "Now, let's take a look. Know you're enemy, there's a logo on the front, Lumic's turning them into a brand," he explained as he pressed the Sonic to the logo. Taking the logo off, he showed Mrs Moore the insides. "Heart of Steel... but look..." he dove his fingers inside the suit, taking out some of the white, fleshy looking substance. "Hmmm... central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well, it _is_ a living thing. Oh, but look..." he fingered one of the chips inside the body with interest. "Emotional Inhibitor... stops them feeling anything. They've still got human brains, imagine it's reaction if it could see itself inside this thing. It'd go insane."

"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human," Mrs Moore finished.

"Because they have to," the Doctor nodded in agreement. There was a brief moment of silence. Silence which was broken by the Cyberman itself. "**Why... am I... cold?**" the Cyberman asked, no longer having that 'Delete' edge to its voice.

"Oh, my God," Mrs Moore whispered. "It's alive... it can _feel..._"

"You broke the inhibitor," the Doctor realised quietly. He leaned over the fallen Cyberman. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"**Why so... cold?**" the Cyberman asked again.

Trying desperately to make sure the person didn't ask where they were, what they were doing and continue to repeat the same question, he asked, "Do you remember your name?"

"**Sally**," the Cyber-_woman_ replied. "**Sally Phelan.**"

"You're a woman..." Mrs Moore muttered in shook.

"**Where's Gareth?**" she asked in a more desperate tone. "**He can't see me, it's unlucky the night before.**"

Dread washed over the faces of the Doctor and Mrs Moore. This woman, this poor, young woman. It just proved that just because their brains were dumped into metal heads, it didn't mean they weren't human. Every Cyberman that was walking the streets of London had lives once. And feelings. But they were dug, hidden in their new mechanical bodies, untouchable.

"You're getting married?" Mrs Moore crooked.

"**I'm cold,**" Sally repeated. "**So cold...**"

"It's alright," the Doctor told her soothingly. He fiddled with his Sonic Screwdriver and gently pressed it inside the suit, pressing the button. "You go to sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." The blue light on the inside of the suit ceased, making the Cyber body look dead once again. "Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing," the Doctor told Mrs Moore. "Because that's the key; the Emotional Inhibitor. If we could just find the Code, the Cancelation Code, we could feed it through the system into every Cyberman's head. They'd realise what they are... I think it would kill them... could we do that?" he asked.

"We've got to," Mrs Moore nodded. "Before they kill everyone else. There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done." Slowly, she began the ascend from the ground. She was too busy looking down at the Cyberman on the floor, as was the Doctor, to notice another metal man was standing right behind her. With no warning, the Cyberman lifted its arm, latching it onto Mrs Moore's neck, killing her quickly. "No!" the Doctor yelled. "You didn't have to kill her!"

The Cyberman ignored the Doctor's comment as another Cyberman approached from behind, cornering him with no where to run. "**Sensors detect a binary vascular system. You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis.**" The Cyberman in front began to walk away, the Doctor having orders to follow them as he looked at each one with disgust. His previous promise ran through him mind as he walked, a promise he was still determined to carry out- _This end tonight._

The Doctor was led into the main building of the factory, not too surprised to see Rose and Pete sitting by the computers, surrounded by Cybermen. "I've been captured, but don't worry, Rose and Pete are still out there, they can rescue me! Oh well, never mind," the Doctor said as he waltzed into the room towards his two friends, untying his bow tie. He walked over to Rose and placed a hand on her arm when he saw her distraught expression. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "But they got Jackie."

"We were too late," Pete explained. "Lumic killed her."

The Doctor nodded. It wasn't like he didn't like Jackie. He was quite fond of the one back in their Universe... when she wasn't cooking or having a go at him, threatening him that if anything happened to her daughter he'd have her to answer to, but he knew that the Jackie in this Universe was not the Jackie her. He gave a small smile to her, then turned back to the Cybermen. "So where is he?" he asked. "The famous Mr Lumic? Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?"

"**He has been upgraded,**" one of the Cybermen informed.

"So he's just like you?"

"**He is superior,**" the Cyberman said. "**The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller.**" From the front of the room, two doors slid open, a white like gas emerging as a new member of the Cyber family entered the room. A Cyberman came into the room, sitting in a chair, reminding Pete very much of the first time he met Mr Lumic, only with more wires sticking in and out of its body and a bigger seat. The Cyberman stopped at the top of the stairs, two others standing by his side. "**This is the Age of Steel,**" Cyber Lumic informed them. "**I am its Creator.**"

There was a long moment of silence. The Doctor had nothing to say to this monster. Couldn't find the words to tell him how heartless, selfish and cowardly he was being. It wasn't down to him anymore, anyway. He couldn't do anything stuck in the factory. It was up to Mickey and Jake now.

On cue, there was a loud beeping, following by hundreds of screams, all coming from the main operation of the factory. The Doctor gave a smile, knowing the boys were on the right track. "That's my friends at work, good boys!" he exclaimed happily. If they had disabled the transmitter, they could help them get out of the factory alive, hopefully. "Mr Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will," he winked at the Cyber Controller.

"**I have factories waiting on seven continents,**" Lumic told them, the smile on the Doctor's face beginning to drop. "**If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take Humanity by force. London has fallen; so shall the word. I will bring peace to the word. Everlasting peace, and unity, and uniformity."**

"And imagination? What about that?" the Doctor asked. "The one thing that led you here, imagination. You're killing it; dead!"

"**What is your name**?" Lumic asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"**A redundant title**," Lumic spat. "**Doctors need not exist; Cybermen never sicken**."

"But that's it!" the Doctor exclaimed, taking a few steps foreword. "That's exactly the point!" he looked at the once-man in pity, then shook his head. "Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room..." he trailed off. "But everything you invented, you did to fight your sickness, and that's brilliant! That is _so_ human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for?" The Cyber Lumic said nothing to this as the Doctor added, "The Cybermen wont advance. You'll just stop! You'll stay like this forever; a metal Earth, with metal men and metal thoughts! Lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive; people! Ordinary, stupid, _brilliant people_!"

There was another brief silence as Lumic was contemplating what to say next. "**You are proud of you emotions?" **he asked eventually.  
"Oh, yes," the Doctor nodded.

"Then tell me, Doctor, have you known grief, and rage? And pain?"

He didn't even have to think about the answer to know what he was going to say. Of course he'd known grief. He'd burnt his own planet, he'd felt plenty of pain. With a slow nod, the Doctor replied, "Yes, yes I have."

"**And they hurt**?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor answered. He noticed from the corner of the room, at the very top near the ceiling was a small flashing light. A camera. Smiling inwardly, he hoped the boys were watching as they spoke.

"**I can set you free. Would you not want that**?" the Cyber Controller asked. "**A life without pain**?" The Doctor thought about that question for a moment. Everything had to be balanced. You cant be happy without a hint of sadness there as well. You cant be at peace without having pain, either. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Rose, who was waiting for his answer. A life without pain, for him, meant a life without her. He decided there and then that it would be worth going through the pain of losing her than not having her at all. He shook his head at Lumic and hissed, "You might as well kill me."

"**Then I take that option**," the Cyberman spat back.

The Doctor frowned and replied, "It's not yours to take! You're a _Cyber Controller_, you don't control _me_, or anything with blood in its heart!"

"**You have no means of stopping me**," Lumic claimed. "**I have an army, a species of my own**." The Doctor rubbed his hands with his face, scrubbing it in frustration as he began to walk around the room. "You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing! Because those ordinary people out there, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world! Some ordinary man or woman," he glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room, adding testily, "Some _idiot_. All it would take was for him to find... say the right numbers... say the right _codes_... say, for example, the code to find the Emotional Inhibitor, the code right in front of him. Even _an idiot_ knows how to use computers these days! Knows how to get past Firewalls and Passwords, knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under... oh, what was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Binary Nine," Pete replied, also looking at the camera.

The Doctor gave a large nod, looking up at the camera briefly again, hoping Mickey was getting the message. "_An idiot _could find that code, the Cancelation Code," he leaned against one of the table, a computer sitting in front of him. "And he'd keep on typing, keep on fighting," he turned toward a camera and winked. "Anything to save his friends."

"**Your words are irrelevant,**" Lumic said dismissively.

The Doctor gave a short chuckle. "Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem. Lucky I go you that cheap Tariff, Rose, for all our long chats, on your _phone," _he looked up to the camera again, doing a phone signal with his hands.

"**You will be Deleted!**" Lumic yelled.

"Yeeees!" the Doctor nodded. "Delete, Control, Hash, all those lovely button, and of course, there's my particular favourite; _send_!" he said happily, making his way over to a small port on one of the computers. All he had to do now was wait, if Mickey hadn't screwed up somehow. "And let's not forget how you seduced all those people in the first place," the Doctor continued, smiling with a small amount of pride when he heard Rose's phone go off. "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else," he looked over at Rose expectantly, now smiled. "It's for you," she told him as she threw her phone to him, him catching it cockily. "Like this," he ended, slotting the phone into the computer port.

All at once, the Cybermen began screaming, clutching their heads as some of the doubled over and fell onto the ground. The Cancelation Code began flashing on every computer monitor in the room, the Doctor looking at the Cybermen, apologising to one of them as they looked at themselves, at what they were turned into.

"**What have you done?!**" Lumic demanded.

"I gave them back their souls," the Doctor replied, looking at the fallen Cybermen, taking Rose's phone out of the port. "They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's _killing _them!" he exclaimed, chucking the phone back to her and running though the door, she and Pete right behind him. They ran through the endless corridors, flames bursting out of the now cracked and broken pipes. He opened a door which looked like a way out, shutting it immediately when he saw Cybermen juddering on the floor and clutching their heads. "There's no way out," the Doctor called through the explosions. A few moments later, Rose phone began to play her ringtone, the callers ID saying 'Mickey'. She pressed it to her ear, shortly after saying, "It's Mickey, he says head for the roof."

Remembering a flight of stairs someway back, the three of them backtracked, finding the metal stairs and running up them, desperately trying to avoid all flames and missing steps. Climbing up the ladder that led to the roof, Rose pressed the phone to her ear again. "Mickey, where'd you learn to fly that thing?" she asked as the Doctor helped Pete up the ladder. He turned, whistling at the large zeppelin which was about to take off, Mickey in the window. Running towards the belly of the balloon, they saw Mickey had released a rope ladder, the Doctor ushering Rose up onto it quickly, him next, then Pete.

_"Welcome to Mickey's Airlines," _came Mickey's happy voice over the tannoy. _"Please enjoy your flight."_

As they climbed up the rope, the zeppelin was slowly moving away from the factory, Rose cheering, "We did it!" They looked at each other happily as they continued to climb. Their happiness seemed short lived as the entire zeppelin gave a heavy jolt. The three looked down to the bottom of the rope ladder to see an unwanted passenger. Cyber Lumic was tightly hanging on to the bottom of the rope, slowly but surely climbing up toward them. The factory was now several feet away from them. If they fell, it wouldn't be a happy ending.

"Pete! the Doctor called, taking his Sonic from his Tux jacket. He flashed the device to the man below him and Rose, dropping it into Pete awaiting hands. "Take it, press it against the rope, push the button down! Quickly!" the Doctor ordered.

Pete followed the Doctor's instruction and pressed the Sonic to the rope. "Jackie Tyler!" he called. "This is for her!" He pressed the button on the Sonic, hearing the cracking and breaking of the rope. As the Cyber Lumic was in arms reach of Pete's ankle, the rope snapped completely, sending Lumic flying down toward the factory. He was soon lost in the midst of the factory's final explosion, Pete laughing in triumph as he continued climbing up the ladder again.

* * *

Rose gave a sigh once they were on solid ground again. She swore to herself she was never going on a plane, ferry, bus or car ever again. However, she was going home in the TARDIS soon, so that promise was out the window.

The Doctor, after retrieving his Sonic Screwdriver and making sure everyone was safe and sound, he ran to the TARDIS, the fully charged Power Cell clasped in his hand. He ran around the Console, searching for a small slot. Upon finding it, he inserted the Power Cell, smiling as the lights in his beloved ship slowly started to switch back on, the gaping hole in the back of his mind filling up again. He ran over to the door once he saw they didn't have a lot of time. "Rose!" he called once he saw he talking with Pete. "We've only got five minutes of power. We have to go."

"The Doctor could show you," Rose told Pete in a pleading tone.

Pete ignored her comment. "Thank you. For everything," he said to the both of them.

Rose looked at him beggingly, then chocked out a, "Dad." Pete looked at the both of them, then shook his head. "Don't," he said quietly. "Just don't." He walked past Rose and up the street, leaving his Parallel daughter staring in the place he was standing. The Doctor didn't really what to say. Rose had just been rejected by her father, her father who she never knew. Sure, he was her Parallel father, but all the same. He looked down at Rose in sympathy, rubbing the back of his neck, a habit of his when he didn't know what else to do.

"Here it is!" Mickey called as he walked toward them, something in his arms. "Found it! Not a crease!" The Doctor looked down at what he was holding and exclaimed in delight, "My suit! Good man!" he praised the young Human and as he took his clothes out of his hands. "Now then, Jake - we've gotta run. But one more thing; Mrs Moore. Her real name is Angela Price. She's got a husband out there. And children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world," he told the young man, who nodded. "'course I will," he replied.

The Doctor smiled I appreciation, then looked back at his two companions. "Off we go then."

Mickey looked between his two friends, stuttering, "Erm... thing is... I'm staying."

Hoping he'd heard wrong, the Doctor asked, "You're doing what?"

Rose shook her head. "You can't."

Mickey gave as much as a shrug that he could. "It sort of balances things out, 'coz this world lost its Ricky, but then there's me, and there's still work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."

"But you _can't _stay," Rose pleaded again.

"But Rose," Mickey started again, his voice cracking. "My grans here. My ol' gran. Remember her? She needs me."

Rose only nodded, then replied, "We'll come back. We can travel anywhere, we'll come and see you, yeah?"

"We can't," the Doctor spoke up. "I told you, travelling between Parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident, we fell through a crack in Time. When we leave, I've gotta close it," he turned more to Mickey now, a look of gentle warning on his face. "We cant ever return." Mickey looked between the both of them, then nodded his head. He looked at the Doctor, then extended his arm, outstretching his hand. "Doctor," he said in farewell. The Doctor gave him a smile, grasping his hand and shaking it. "Take Rose's phone, it's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories," the Doctor told him, letting go of his hand. "Good luck, Mickey the Idiot," he ended, giving his friend a playful slap. He gave Rose a look, then wandered back to the TARDIS, placing his suit on the Jump seat as he set the coordinates for their Universe.

Rose slumped into the Console Room a few moments later, sitting down on the Jump Seat as the Doctor sent them flying back to their Universe. Once he'd finished sewing the cracks back together, he glanced over at Rose, who was staring at her hands, a single tear running down her cheek. He let the TARDIS fly idly through the Time Vortex as he wandered over to Rose, brushing away the tear and taking her into his arms. They stood like this for a long while, Rose's head placed gently in the Doctor shoulder as he rubbed her back. "Can you take me home?" Rose requested. This question made the Doctor's hearts speed up. Was she asking to go home to stay? Did she not want to travel with him anymore because Mickey wasn't there? Seeing his reaction, she added, "I need to see my mum."

Mouth the word 'oh', he pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to her cheek. "Just let me get out of this thing," he said, gesturing his Tux.

The Doctor returned to the Console Room, Tuxedo off and trusty suit back on. He noticed Rose had also changed out of her waitress gear. He walked to the Console and sent them materialising in the Tyler living room. Rose was the first to step out of the TARDIS, muttering to her mother, "You're alive..." then embracing her tightly.

"Well, I was the last time I looked," Jackie laughed. "What is it? What's happened, sweetheart?" she asked as she rubbed her daughters back. She noticed the Doctor watching them, then asked him the same question. "What's wrong, where did you go?"

"Far away," he answered. Nodding, he repeated, "That was far away."

Looking around the room, she asked, "Where's Mickey?" causing Rose to hold her tighter.

"He's gone home," he replied. From the kitchen, the Doctor noticed someone sitting on the unit. He gave a weak smile to the young woman as she took a swig of her tea, waving her gloved hand at him as she too watched the mother and daughter.


	15. Answered Questions Part 2

_**Answered Questions Part 2**_

The two Tyler's made their way to the sofa, both the Doctor and Eliza watching them quietly. The Doctor felt Eliza's eyes on him, then a sudden, "_Let's give 'em some privacy, yeah Gramps?"_

Sighing at the nickname she insisted on calling him by, but a small spark of happiness seeping through it as well, he nodded, muttering to Rose he was parking the TARDIS down the street. It'd been nearly a month since the Doctor had actually seen Eliza. Sure, he always knew she was there, but she remained hidden, unwilling to show herself.

As soon as she saw the Time Rotor, Eliza ran to it, throwing her arms around it as if reuniting with an old friend or family. The TARDIS gave a low hum of happiness, the young girl strolling around the Console, the Doctor watching her evenly, noticing some noticeable changes. Her hair had grown longer, she'd gotten a lot taller, and had large bags under her eyes. As he set the coordinates to just outside the Powell Estate, Eliza plopped down on the Jump Seat, stretching.

"What were you doing at Jackie's?" the Doctor questioned once they had materialised.

"What, I'm not allowed to see her every once and a while?" Eliza scoffed. "Has it not occurred to you I might be visiting her? Because I want to?" The Doctor looked down at the grating, quickly realising what he'd said was the wrong thing. Eliza leaned back into the seat and yawned, shrugging while she did. "I was just wondering what was happenin' and stuff, is all. She can get quite lonely, cooped up in that flat all the time." She gave another yawn, the Doctor look the opportunity to jump off the subject. "You look tired," he commented.

She gave a chuckled, looking back up at him. "You have no idea," she told him. "You know, at first, the whole 'Protector of the Universe' thing sounded good, but it isn't half exhausting."

"I don't suppose you can just quit either," the Doctor said, leaning back on the Console.

"Gramps, I said it was exhausting, not that I'd change anything," Eliza said happily. "And I wouldn't, not really. I might complain like hell about it sometimes, but I wouldn't change it for the world." She looked around the Console Room again, remembering her intensions for being there. "Sooooo… you and Rose?" she gave him a cheeky smile.

"Shut up," the Doctor grinned like a teenage school boy, giving her a nudge with his foot. And looked back down at the ground again, deep in thought. "You know, I'm not sure if I should be grateful for your 'help' or hating you," he admitted. Seeing her confused expression, he added, "You know what she is, Eliza. Human-"

"Like everything and everyone else that's been your companion? Like Ace, Jo, Vicki," Eliza interrupted heavily. "We've had this conversation before. You'll lose her, yes. But like I told you, I would rather look back on all the good times you had together rather than asking 'what if?', and I'm sure you would, too."

The Doctor frowned at her. How did she know about his past companions? How much did she really know? Nodding, he began to wonder around the Console. "I suppose you're right," he mumbled.

"Of course I am," she smiled. "You can't stop death, so just take as much as you can for what it's worth."

"You sound like you're talking from experience," he quipped. She gave him another cheeky smile, winking. "Believe me, I am." He shook his head, chuckling. She laughed as well, leaning back on the Jump Seat for some well needed rest. When she leaned back, part of the zip came undone, exposing neck and part of her shoulder. Around her neck was a necklace, her TARDIS key resting happily on her chest. The Doctor stared at it for the longest time, sensing a tingling from the key. It began glowing slightly, a dim blue lighting up her dark clothing. The glow ceased, the Doctor continuing to stare. Then, he felt a deep anger. An anger towards her.

He'd had his suspicions for a while. Every time he had a question to ask her, he would forget it the moment he saw her, then remember it nearly as soon as she left. He stormed over to her and yanked the key from around her neck, causing her to abruptly get up. "No!" she exclaimed, but all too late. The Doctor took the key into his hands, examining it. It was true. His suspicions were true. The key was a Perception Filter of some sorts. This is what was making him forget. He looked back up as her, a look of horror etched across her face as he was quickly feeling the rage of the Oncoming Storm. He took a step toward her, but she stood her ground. "That was for your own protection," Eliza explained vaguely, all too quickly.

"Protection?" the Doctor spat. "Protection from what? The only noticeable thing I've noticed it's been 'protecting' me from is asking questions. You know me very well, Eliza, asking questions is my speciality. So what is it then? What don't you want me knowing, or finding out?" he turned to look at her, a warning hum running through the Doctor's mind, which he quickly discarded. Eliza said nothing as she sighed. "But that's the funny thing, Eliza," he continued. "You seem to know _so _much about me; my past, my companions, my connection with UNIT, but I don't know a thing about you. Who you are, where you come from, I'm not even sure what species you are," he hissed. "So go on then! What could be in your head that you don't want me knowing, hmm? What's in your head you don't want me to find out?"

"Why do you think I made the Filter, Gramps?" Eliza replied impatiently. "To stop you from asking, so what makes you think I'm just gonna tell you now?" She looked down at her gloved hands, scratching the back of her neck with one, something she frequently did when she was nervous. "There are just some things you can't know yet, and I have no intention of telling you. You'd better get used to that."

The Doctor looked at his former companion with wide eyes. How _dare _she?! She was keeping things from him, and just expected him to go along with it? She had no right whatsoever to decide what was best for him or what wasn't. She had no right to trick and deceive him like she had. No right to play tricks on his mind by making a Perception Filter- out of the very key he gave her, no less. He was seething. "Get out," the Doctor ordered.

"Pardon?" Eliza replied, looking up at him.

"Get out!" the Doctor barked, throwing the key at her. Eliza looked down at the key on the floor then looked back up at him. She picked up the key, then turned toward the door of hallways. "Just let me get something," she spat.

"Hurry up," the Doctor replied sternly walking toward the door. Would he wait outside and lock the door after she left? No, no of course he wouldn't. He knew she could fly the TARDIS, he'd wait for her to return. The TARDIS herself attempted many times to explain that 'it wasn't time yet' but he paid the ship no mind. Even his own vessel was turning against him...

Eliza returned not five minutes later, storming past him angrily. With no warning or word of goodbye, she slowly began to glow a dim TARDIS blue, fading in and out until she was no longer in sight.

**_A.N: Oh God... this chapter was a bit difficult on me. I knew I had to write it, but I really knew I had to *sad face* I had a review saying 'Oh Eliza, I love her', and while I was writing this I was just thinking 'you wont after this...' Ah well._**

**_!NEXT PARAGRAPH WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR TWO SPECIALS OF DOCTOR WHO!_**

**_Now, dancer4813, sorry I couldn't reply through email, it's not working for me for some reason, and I only just figured I could reply to you through this :P Thanks, I didn't want them to be like 'oh, couple now, we're all lovey dovey and stuff'. I suppose him brushing the name off would be just because he heard it everywhere, but when he heard it with Donna, he went absolutely mental, but it was clear that when he heard Bad Wolf he was thinking of Rose, then just dismissed the thought entirely. I did see the Christmas Special and the new numbering does sort of make sense but... I'm trying hard not to grind my teeth here, Moffat just gave him a new Cycle... just like that... I suppose in a way he isn't fiddling with what other makers said by giving him new lives, but he still interfered with Gallifrey being frozen, not burnt. I'm probably raging about this way more than I should be, so I'll just stop there. _**

**_Also, I think I should say that I wont be updating in a little while. I have quite a few exams coming up in school and I really want to pass. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, followed and favourite, also for sticking with me for this long!_**


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